Look before you leap

‘Look before you leap’. It’s a common saying, one we hear all the time as we grow up. Its meaning is simple enough – understand the situation you face thoroughly before acting upon it. Why then, do so many people have a hard time following such a simple phrase?

It seems like every time a major issue hits the news, the social media networks explode with violent reactions. Students are not shy in regards to what they post on their Facebook accounts, and every time another issue passes, I see several comments and statuses posted, all crying out for change one way or another. Amidst the social media noise, though, I wonder if any of the people posting statuses or sharing pictures truly know the situations at hand, or indeed, even care about the issues in the first place. A lot of the time, it seems like people post these comments and tweets, not because they truly care about the issues, but because it’s the latest passing fad.

Last month, The LaSallian published an article reporting the hazing charges filed against the COCC program of ROTC. The article received plenty of attention, which is understandable, especially given the recent disturbing news regarding hazing incidents in universities. One wave of comments called for the abolishment of the program, prompting another group of students to defend it. However, it was strange seeing students demand the suspension of the program when the article itself did not confirm any incident of hazing and only reported that a case was being filed. Likewise, graduates of the ROTC program made comments about the article being biased and uninformed for supposedly accusing ROTC of hazing. These comments were similarly baseless; the article, after all, did not accuse the program of hazing but only reported that a case had been filed and that investigations were ongoing. At the end of the day, in the middle of all the arguments sparked, it was like several of the students taking part in these debates, on either end, did not seem to fully understand the situation.

It makes me wonder why so many people took to their Facebook and Twitter accounts, either on one side of the debate or on the other, when it seems like neither cry was warranted. It was almost like these people simply read the headlines, or perhaps a few paragraphs of the article, and decided it was enough knowledge to go on. Even worse, it was like some of them were basing their posts on what they had heard from a friend as opposed to actually reading up on the issue at hand. These students seemed like they knew all there was to know about the issue which led me to wonder how many of them actually read the article.

It brings back memories of other issues which sparked social media movements across the country. I remember the issue regarding the Cybercrime Law, which caused an outcry among students claiming that the bill had no right to be passed. But then again, how many of those who called for the bill’s dissolution had actually read and understood its purpose? I also remember being involved in several debates regarding the RH bill. Again, I would across all forms of social media see people arguing regarding whether or not the bill should be passed or not. It would surprise me how many of those arguing would admit afterwards that no, they had never actually read the bill. Even cases such as the PDAF scandal had hordes of people on Facebook calling for Janet Lim-Napoles’ head, with several not even entirely sure about what the crime she committed in the first place was.

It seems like the culture of society today has people following the flow of everyone else as opposed to reading up on an issue and formulating their own ideas. It seems like when it comes to these issues of importance, several students are more than likely to stay content following whichever trend is on Facebook and adapting whichever hashtag they see on Twitter as opposed to actually reading up and forming their own conclusions. I’m not saying that everyone who commented on these national issues was completely ignorant of their implications, but I cannot help but think that several of them did not fully know what they were talking about, and joined the social media march regardless, simply because it was the cool thing to do.

And now, with the recent release of the hazing article, it looks like more of the same. Instead of reading up on an issue in order to create an informed and unbiased opinion, most students simply take up the cry of those around them, forming conclusions based solely on headlines. It’s an age old saying, yet it seems like several students cannot analyze their surroundings before jumping to conclusions. We cannot form an opinion without first fully understanding the issue at hand. We must learn to read beyond headlines. We must look before we leap.