The  growing  influence  of  social  media  on  an  expanding  audience  across  the  

globe  raises  serious  concerns  on  security  and  privacy,  productivity  and  viability  of  
“real”  social  connections.    
 
The  dawn  of  twenty-­first  century,  following  breakthroughs  in  Internet  technology,  
saw  an  explosion  of  new  media  platforms.  While  not  entirely  new,  Internet-­based  
social  networks  or  simply  social  media  has  increasingly  become  in  recent  years  
an  important  venue  for  creation  and  exchange  of  knowledge,  self-­expression,  
social  interaction,  marketing  of  services,  products  and  causes,  popular  
empowerment,  political  debate  and  mobilization.  
 
In  the  Philippines,  according  to  the  Demographic  Research  and  Development  
Foundation  and  the  University  of  the  Philippines  Population  Institute,  the  most  
prolific  users  of  social  media  are  the  youth,  aged  15-­24  years.  They  spend  six  
hours  a  week  on  average  online;;  others  spend  35  hours  in  the  Internet.  Indeed,  
Filipinos  are  among  the  world’s  biggest  social  media  audiences.  A  2014  global  
study  called  Wave7  even  tagged  the  Philippines  as  the  world’s  social  media  
capital.  
 
Celebrities  like  Justin  Beiber  and  Charice  Pempengco  owe  to  social  media  their  
success.  They  began  as  online  singing  sensations,  whose  videos  went  viral  in  
Youtube  and  Facebook,  until  mainstream  media  noticed  them  and  launched  their  
international  careers  in  show  business.  Not  only  does  social  media  build  careers,  
it  also  (re)build  nations.  
 
The  success  of  Million  People  March  in  August  2013,  a  massive  popular  
demonstration  against  alleged  corruption  of  lump-­sum  funds  under  congressional  
discretion  called  pork  barrel,  has  been  widely  credited  to  social  media.  In  2011,  
the  Arab  Spring  in  the  Middle  East,  a  series  of  popular  uprisings  against  
despotic,  autocratic  regimes,  has  also  been  associated  with  mobilization  through  
social  media  channels.  
     
While  advocates  and  supporters  herald  the  positive  impact  of  social  media,  critics  
have  warned  of  its  adverse  effects.  Unauthorized  use  of  users’  private  
information  by  web  developers  has  generated  protests  as  it  infringes  on  the  right  
to  privacy  and  could  lead  to  discrimination  in  seeking  employment  and  insurance.    
 
Critics  have  also  pointed  out  the  vulnerability  of  social  media  users  to  sexual  
predators,  cyberbullying  and  online  harassment,  which  could  lead  to  low  self-­
esteem,  negative  outlook  and  disposition,  and  erratic  behavior.  Some  cases  of  
suicide  among  teens  have  been  traced  back  to  cyberbullying.  
 
Some  also  argue  to  some  valid  extent  that  while  social  media  facilitates  easier  
communication  and  connectivity  among  friends  and  families,  the  social  networks  
we  build  online  remain  superficial,  raising  questions  on  the  sustainability  of  online  
social  networks.  
  
Evolving  anthropological  scholarship,  however,  now  goes  beyond  embodied  or  
face-­to-­face  communities  to  understand  emerging  social  configurations  in  
modern  society.  This  field  of  research  focusing  on  Internet  communities  is  called  
cyber  anthropology.  
 
Nonetheless,  despite  anthropological  scholarship  on  many  Internet-­related  
issues,  anthropological  inquiry  on  social  media  and  its  impact  on  individual  
behavior  and  national  and  global  outcomes  remains  scarce.  Without  a  deep  and  
broad  understanding  of  social  media  and  its  impact  on  the  lives  of  its  users,  we  
are  bound  to  remain  the  curious  fools  and  amused  spectators  of  its  seemingly  
magical  power.  And  without  that  understanding,  we  stand  unprepared  to  the  
dangers  of  this  potential  monster;;  the  sheep  we  love  may  just  be  the  wolf  bidding  
its  time,  ready  to  launch  its  fatal  attack.