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Filipina in the Global World - by: Carlos Yu

FACTS:
 From “The Straits Times”, Singapore, July 14, 2003, the number of Filipina maids in Hongkong dropped from 140,400 at the end of March to 133,570 in late May – decline of 5%. Remittances of the 7.5 million Filipinos who work abroad – more than 70% are women mostly maids reached US$ 6 billion last year.
 From “The Washington Post”, more than 34,000 Washington area’s Philippine born residents work in a wide range of professions: doctors, pentagon leaders, civil rights activists, director of the annual global summit of women, elected officials, and nurses.
ISSUES:
There are various researches made in studying the Filipinas in the global world. Articles, such as “Filipinos in Global Migrations: At home in the World?” by Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr., “Maid to Order” by Jonathan Rowe, and many write-ups from different newspaper around the world, discussed where are the Filipinas now and the effect of globalization in their lives and families.
There are two very important issues which concern global women especially Filipina: care drain and global heart transplant. Filipina household workers, in other words, are prototypical global women. Third world countries are undergoing a care drain. The first world countries once extracted the third world countries’ rubber, oil, and gold; now it extracts parental affection as well. Today as love and care become the new gold, third world children pay the price. Migration has become a “dark child’s burden” and their mother’s burden as well.
A collective global heart transplant is an image that suggests something about the recipients as well as the donors. It is as if the wealthy parts of the world are running short on precious emotional and sexual resources and have had to turn to poorer regions for fresh supplies.
Another effect of globalization is the increasing number of Filipinas going into prostitution. The internet opens their connection to a larger market which would help them earn bigger money to sustain their needs. There was a TV commercial showing how a parent sells her daughter’s body to male foreigners and tells the child that she will be paid if she takes her clothes off. Aside from this, globalization serves as a factor that influences Filipinas to go into prostitution as it liberalizes their minds to various ideas on prostitution.

Also, an effect of globalization is the “working moms.” This changed the idea of Filipinas as “housewives.” Mothers started to work to help his husband raise their family or worse, she’s the only one who’s supporting their family. An example of this is the TV commercial aired last Christmas which shows a mother working on a call center who wishes to see her children on Christmas Eve. Other examples are the domestic helpers abroad who are not able to provide the needs of their children. Thus, what the children often receive is love seen on material gifts and not the traditional maternal love.

Although globalization, along with modernization liberalized Filipinas and produced bad effects on the society, there are also advantages that were brought by globalization to Filipinas. Because of globalization, women’s potentials are given attention and are developed. They are given the chance to discover and use their potentials optimally. They have proven their worth to the society. Furthermore, just like in a TV commercial, the gifts of globalization such as technology gave young Filipinas another way of expressing their selves and that is through cell phones and the internet.

Cyber Warriors Report

Sociology 10: MTh 1-2:30
Group Members:
Justin O. Ho
Brian K. Ong
Mayden Joy San Antonio
Leoneil Francisco
Marjorie Ann Yu
Nestor F. Margallo Jr.

WRITTEN REPORT

Cyber Warriors! – How has the Pinoy adapted to the information age

Subtopic: USE OF INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION

INTERNET
- publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit data.
- "network of networks"
NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS IN THE PHILIPPINES
- 11.8 million in 2004 and may increase to 20 million by 2007.
INTERNET ACCESS
* Home access - dial - up
- landline broadband
* Public places - libraries
- internet cafes
* Wi - Fi - wireless access to the internet
* Cellphones

COMMON USES OF INTERNET
*World Wide Web - a collection of interconnected documents and other resources linked by hyperlinks.
- used for keyword - driven Internet research using search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo)
- easy, instant access to a vast and diverse amount of online information.
*Remote Access - internet allows computer users to connect to other computers and information stores easily, wherever they may be across the world.
*Collaboration - the low - cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge and skills has made collaborative work dramatically easier.
*File sharing - a computer file can be e - mailed to customers, colleagues and friends as an attachment.
*Streaming media - an internet - connected device, such as a computer or something more specific, can be used to access on - line media in much the same way as was previously possible only with a TV or radio receiver.



ISSUES REGARDING THE USE OF INTERNET
*Plagiarism - the practice of claiming, or implying, original authorship, or incorporating material from someone else's written or creative work in whole or in part, into one's own, without adequate acknowledgement.
*Censorship
ADVANTAGES
*Easy and fast access to different information.
*Internet serves as a bridge for different people in different parts of the world.
*Internet is used for communication purposes.
DISADVANTAGES
*Issues of plagiarism and censorship arise.
*Piracy is committed.
*Internet can be used for things that can harm other people.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet


Subtopic: USING FRIENDSTER, MULTIPLY, YAHOO MESSENGER, BLOGSPOTS and DOING OTHER ACTIVITIES


Some points:
- Some people find their soulmates
- Socialize and chat with anonymous people
- Stalking
- Sharing of pictures


Did you know?
- A pinoy made friendster!
Joseph Ross Lee, 26 years old, is currently Friendster’s Philippine team chief
- There are about 4.5 million Friendster accounts in the Philippines
- 1 in 7 Filipinos is based outside the Philippines, so a lot of of us use Friendster to stay in touch considering our geographically disparate network of friends and relatives.
- Most companies ban Friendster from office Internet access, a testimony to its timesucking ability during work hours.
Source: http://business2.blogs.com/business2blog/2006/05/friendster_is_b.html

OTHER STATISTICS:

- 41 Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

- 8000 Internet cafes (from 1500 in 2002)
- Around 80% of Metro Manila Internet users access the Internet from their homes.
- 48% use prepaid Internet cards to access the Internet. The top ISPs that appeared in our surveys lately are PLDT and ISP Bonanza.
- The prepaid Internet market is getting bigger and is currently estimated to be worth 818 million pesos.

- Top prepaid ISPs at the moment are ISP Bonanza, Bl@st, Go, and SurfMaxx.

- The biggest Internet cafe chain in the country is Netopia.
- Figures on the number of Internet users and Internet cafes per province.
 Baguio City - 13,000 Internet users, 100 Internet cafes
 Cagayan De Oro City - 35,000 Internet users, 100 Internet cafes
 Cebu - 350,000 Internet users, 600 Internet cafes
 Davao City - 70,000 Internet users, 300 Internet cafes
 Iligan City - 11,000 Internet users, 20 Internet cafes
 Iloilo City - 40,000 Internet users, 200 Internet cafes
 Manila - 3,000,000 Internet users, 2000 Internet cafes
 Zamboanga City - 25,000 Internet users, 40 Internet cafes
 Albay - 70,000 Internet users, 40 Internet cafes
With the greater availability of online facilities from Internet cafes, cheaper dial up subscriptions, DSL, broadband, broadcast, satellite, cable, it is forecasted that the number of Internet users will increase by 50% every 2 years.
Source: Philippine Internet Demographics by: Janette Toral
http://www.digitalfilipino.com/ecommerce_article.cfm?id=57

Top 10 Internet Activities
1.) Using web-based emails (yahoo.com, hotmail.com) – 87%
Above 20 yrs. old, professionals, entrepreneurs
2.) Using instant messenger to chat – 75%
Young adults, housewives, professionals, entrepreneurs
3.) Reading news online – 70%
Males, above 30 yrs. Old, entrepreneurs
4.) Using a search engine to get brand information before buying – 63%
Males, young adults, professionals
5.) Reading regular newsletters from websites after signing up for them – 61%
Above 30 yrs. old, working individuals
6.) Visiting a job site (e.g. trabaho.com) - 59%
Professionals, young adults
7.) Sharing/posting pictures on the net - 56%
Young adults, working people
8.) Sourcing information about movies/DVDs – 54%
Teens and young adults
9.) Finding out about brands/companies – 54%
Young adults, professionals
10.) reading sponsored content pages/websites - 49%
teens and young adults, students

Points of Access:
Ø Work/School – 46%
Ø Internet café – 43%
Ø At home – 41%
Length of Time Online – 1-3 hours (average TV viewing levels is about three hours)
Primetime: lunch break at work, after school, weekend mid-afternoons

Source: “Marketing, Communications Enter Digital Age”. The Philippine Daily Inquirer January 19, 2007 issue section B5.

Subtopic: SOCIOLOGY IN ONLINE GAMING

- Online games are social worlds with their own geography, culture, dialect, and social rules.They are places where protests and vigils are held. They are places where slang and etiquette rules emerge. They are places where people meet and then get married face-to-face.
- teenagers prefer a virtual world to compromise personal issues and sociological problems
- online marriage, courtship and friendship and conflict develops in a virtual setting
- Some of these patrons may find leadership and affiliation opportunities in virtual worlds that they don’t have in the real world.
- Positive effect:
o alleviate social pressure
o personal development in virtual social interaction
o serve as therapeutic means for social entrapment
- Negative effect:
o Academic / Work and relationship stagnation
o Virtual Plunder or scams, exchanging virtual value for real money and money squandering
o Health deterioration
- Problems
o No law to resolve extreme cases in a legal procedure


SYNTHESIS:
Social effects of internet use have increased dramatically. Our lifestyles have definitely been altered by it. Here in the Philippines, many use it primarily for research and entertainment purposes.
Given the data regarding the Filipinos’ role in today’s information age, it is seen that Pinoys have clearly embraced the internet and everything it offers. Granted that there are numerous advantages to the internet from research to leisure purposes but it still cannot be ignored that there are also several valid concerns that should be addressed. Given that the internet is necessary in this day and age, cautionary steps in the law should nonetheless be taken since some ethical and legal issues have arisen due to the internet’s fast worldwide access. The dilemma, however, lies in the “borderless” aspect of the internet. Indeed, it is borderless, so much so that monitoring it to avoid the issues previously mentioned is very difficult to achieve. So, first, the internet technology is evolving too rapidly for safeguarding laws to be passed and second, supervision for ethical purposes is nearly impossible.
The temptation to get hooked to the net is so great particularly because of the ease and convenience it offers; up-to-date information a mere click away, hundreds of contacts throughout the world without even leaving home, and entertainment alongside virtual social interaction. Despite the numerous warning bells that may be ringing in our heads every time we research via the net without properly citing the source, or when we spend too much in checking our account for new testimonials, or when we start missing classes because we need one more hour playing DOTA, it seems the internet is a force as easily controlled and even stopped as an avalanche gathering speed downhill.

global culture and the pinoy

The concept map shows factors in which the Filipino (Pinoy) culture is affected by globalization. Yes, there are still others that can be considered. But for our group, these factors are the most common. In fact, changes brought about by such factors are apparent nowadays. These are the following:


MEDICINE

Before our country was invaded by foreign countries, our ancestors already had their own model of medicine. Before, they used plants and animals to cure their sickness. They also indulged in faith healing and others, to cast out what they believed where evil spirits that tend to bring ailments to their bodies. 1 But now, with the rapid growth of technology and the massive influence of globalization, Filipinos use more effective and improvised medicine. Although we still tend to use some herbal medicine, we use them because we have scientific explanations towards its effects. Nowadays, science tends to explain every disease that come to exist; likewise, find cure for such diseases.
1 “Panggagamot, Medisina at Wika”, Azicate


LANGUAGE

With the unstoppable dispersion of globalization, our culture has been greatly affected. Indeed, culture has been the cause and the victim of such phenomena. It has been said that, “ang wika (language) ay daluyan, pahayag-pahiwatig, at impukan-kuhanan ng kultura.” 2 But with the rise of globalization, it is inevitable for some of the strongholds of culture not to be infiltrated. One great stronghold of culture is its language. One clear manifestation of globalization’s influence on our language is the emergence of the so called “konyo”. Others might not be greatly aware of this, but most, if not all, Filipinos now mix English with Filipino. They use shorter English terms (i.e. brown, etc.) during their normal conversations rather than the conventional Filipino terms (i.e. kayumanggi, etc.). Others use English terms because there are no clear-cuts or concise translations of a particular term in our language. We can trace this occurrence from the form of education that we are receiving and from our communication with foreign countries to be a globally competitive nation.
2 “Wika at Kulturang Pilipino”, Salazar


EDUCATION

Because of the rapid growth of technology and knowledge, it is also inevitable for us not to be influenced by other countries in terms of education. It is very evident in almost all the schools all over the country whereby students and teachers use foreign books and other references for different academic activities. This is because we need to keep with the fast-paced growth of knowledge globally.

In addition to books, our modes of academic learning have also been greatly influenced by globalization. Students and other people use various gadgets and devices for effective learning (i.e. internet, cell phones, organizers, laptop, etc.), and various high-tech equipment and programs to conduct their research and reports (i.e. measuring machineries, power point, etc.). 3 Although globalization raised our standards of education, it also changed our modes of conducting it which greatly affected other parts of our culture.
3 “Future of University Education”


TECHNOLOGY

Globalization paved the way for the import and export of goods and services. Because of this, the level of competition internationally increased resulting to the specialization of countries to their chosen field. This trade of goods and information ignited or brought out the existence of new and better technology. Since our country also played a part in the trade industry, these improvised technologies made its way to our culture. And now, most Filipinos lovingly embrace these technologies in the form of cell phones, MP3, IPOD, computers, and many more. This resulted to the gradual facing out of our conventional ways or lifestyle. People now prefer to use cell phones than the telephone (landline). Others usually use the internet and send electronic mail (e-mail) rather than doing the conventional way of writing and then mailing their letters in the post office. Indeed, the Filipino lifestyle differs from the lifestyle years ago. Yes, because of technological change, it made our lives easier and faster. However, we are slowly getting very dependent on these things which could possibly have a negative effect in the future.






PREFERENCES

With the spread of globalization and growth of technology comes a great change in our preferences in life. Filipinos, especially the youth, prefer foreign products, foreign movies, foreign music, etc rather than patronizing the very own. The youth now prefer the music of Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and Fergie, better than those of Sarah Geronimo, Rachelle Ann Go, and Sheryn Regis. Because of this, to get approval from the people, local artists are trying to imitate foreign bands and their respective genres. Likewise, in terms of television shows, children view foreign made cartoons and anime than out local cartoon shows. Indeed, the Filipino preferences are slowly shifting out. Hence, there is now the fast-paced homogenization of cultures.


NATIONALISM

Similarly, as more and more products or goods coming from foreign countries are brought here in our country, people tend to patronize more these products. If one has to choose between a product made from US or a product made here in the Philippines, one will quickly choose the former. People believe that buying such things would help them be “accepted” or be “in” (in a group, etc.) since most are also buying imported products. Because of this, it also affected our economy. We, as a group, are not saying that one should not buy imported products. However, it would be best if we would purchase more products made in our own country. We must patronize and be proud of our own products.


LIBERALIZATION

The way we dress, the way we carry or handle ourselves, are also brought about by globalization. Nowadays, women (we are not saying all), are not afraid to show some “skin” in public. In the types of clothes they wear: the shorter the better. These changes in style are also a means to be “in” in a crowd. We don’t want to be/feel left out. We want to cope up with the changes in style that’s why we are always aware of what is “hot” and “new” in the fashion industry.


By:

Catabay, Elviemma
Cortes, Katherine
Delos Santos, Joana
Raz, Xylee Anne
Robles, Marianne Mil
Vallente, Krister
Villacoba, Sarah

hello!

welcome to the wonderful world of blogging!

this blog is run by the sociology 10 class (2nd sem, AY 06-07) of enuh iglesias. this blog hopes to inspire free and spirited discussions about relevant issues confronting the question, "what does it mean to be filipino?" from a sociological perspective.


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