5 Reasons Why I Think We Should Boycott The Local Mainstream Media Altogether

Look, I know I’ve always been a staunch opponent of the local media and that I wail at it whenever the opportunity to do so presents itself. In fact, over the years, I think I’m becoming tiring and redundant when it comes to bashing the local media. However, I’m going to have to apologize to all of you in advance because that is exactly what I’m going to do again. Truth is, I’ve honestly had enough of all the garbage the local media has been trying to shove in my and everyone else’s face as of late and that losing them won’t just be harmless for the Philippines, as we have access to foreign news which is unsurprisingly more accurate than local sources, but it may prove to be a huge benefit to the Filipino people in the long run.Here are my reasons for why:It Promotes SelfishnessI remember mentioning that selfishness is probably one of the chief causes of great evil in this world. I actually just picked up the idea from Stephen King’s Revival but I’m not taking that back. Truth be told, it rings true in our society what with its almost innate dysfunctions which are almost downright impossible to get rid of altogether.Of course, the local media tries to keep up the facade that it’s actually a wholesome enterprise and that it cares greatly for the welfare of its viewers and blah blah blah…However, upon closer inspection of its contents, one will notice the following:

Love stories are less about people having a deep sense of trust for one another and are instead driven by an obsession with each another, which in real life is never healthy.
Action movies are more about revenge killing rather than any sense of justice and, while many foreign action films are similar in some ways, they nonetheless present other interesting and better themes as well.
Drama shows are more about getting what one wants like wealth, fame or power through easy and simply ways instead of showing that they are things one works hard for and that cooperation with others is essential.

It Promotes ImmoralityTying in with the above, the local media tends to promote immorality to viewers in a very subtle way. Again, it likes to hide behind a facade of wholesomeness but if one were to take close inspection of its shows, it slowly becomes obvious that something is amiss in their programming. Heck, they even have the so-called MTRCB who supposedly keeps the media wholesome with shows that are readily consumable for general audiences even though they are anything but.Here’s something I often find in garden-variety supposedly “wholesome” shows:

Children behaving like adults and forming romantic relationships often against the wishes of their parents.
Risque and suggestive imagery and heavy sexual implications can be found in many noontime shows.
Themes of revenge are very common and it seems to be the only thing a lot of characters live for.

It Promotes Narcissism The problem with the local media is that they tend to put too much into the heads of public figures they like. Of course, if they don’t like you, they’ll probably vilify and demonize you, just like what they’re doing to President Duterte right now by the way. Anyway, if they like you, they’ll make you their untouchable king or queen. In fact, they will go out of their way to attack anyone who questions you and your actions no matter how questionable it may seem.To make things short, if the media likes you, they will sell to you the idea that you are some kind of demigod even though you are most certainly aren’t. It Promotes Idolatry This is probably the main reason I bash the media in the first place and why I’m not going to stop anytime soon. Thing is, there’s really nothing wrong with admiring or liking someone who’s famous or popular, but to outright worship them as ideal figures is a different story entirely. What the media does is make its viewers believe that a given public figure is somehow a divinity who can never go wrong and is better than everyone else.It’s why we have people like Manny Pacquiao, Bong Revilla Jr., Tito Sotto and Lito Lapid in the senate who very clearly do not belong in their positions. The media has led us to believe that these people are somehow “holy” and that we should somehow laud them as divine entities of some kind. While some of the individuals mentioned might be talented in their respected field but, if one inspects their track records closely, one can surmise that they are clearly not cut out for being politicians at all.Unfortunately, that’s not what the local media is showing us.If anything, the media continues to promote these people as if they are somehow the heroes who will rescue the Philippines from its problems. It’s quite rare for them to show that one should solve one’s own problems instead of relying too much on “superheroes” who will fix everything for them with them not needing to lift a finger.They Are A Source Of Misinformation And Misguidance Combining with all four elements I’ve already mentioned, this is through and through the biggest reason we should stop supporting the local media altogether. They have so little to offer their viewers in terms of actual information and only serve to kill the brain cells of the people unfortunate enough to be watching their programs. If anything, they just serve to make the common people overly emotional and depend too much on all too often misplaced feelings rather than logical thinking and focusing on practical solutions for their problems.There was a time when the local media could at least be trusted when they still had educational programs that could educate young viewers but I’m afraid that time is long gone now that just about everything has been inter-spliced with crappy teleserye elements…