#MoveCebu: Social media allows youth to promote their advocacy

CEBU, Philippines – Rappler holds its latest MovePH chat at the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
Students realize social media is not just a tool for social interaction but a potent force for creating ripples of change.
Voltaire Tupaz reports.

Social networking sites are often banned on campus.
But this attitude is changing.
At the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City, students can freely check their Facebook timelines and tweet.
On Wednesday Rappler held its latest Move.ph chat series for over 600 students from the University of San Jose-Recoletos and other colleges in Cebu City…
to discuss the anti-cybercrime law and the use of the internet to promote social change.
It is a cause that the University supports.
REV. FR. EMMANUEL A. BOLILIA, OAR: Rappler and many other domains are using the internet to promote social change and we can only pursue change, especially you dear young people if we will always be responsible users of this platform
Through social media, the youth are able to use their energy and idealism to advocate issues close to their heart.
There are 570-thousand young Facebook users in Cebu City and they are potent change agents.
But social media users should know how to harness this energy responsibly in order to be effective.
CHAY HOFILENA: A lot of us think that because hindi ka kilala, you’re anonymous. You can post anything. Pwede mong tirahin or you can criticize anybody. But remember, if you cannot say it face to face, don’t post it online.
The Move.ph chat series also hopes to inspire students to be citizen journalists and report stories that matter.
Rappler’s Ayee Macaraig talks about the challenges of being a multimedia reporter.
AYEE MACARAIG: You’re the one person, superwoman news team, because, number one, you’re the reporter, you write and interview, everything you know a reporter does, but ikaw ang cameraman mo. Ikaw pa editor mo. Ikaw pa magpost, pati keywords, ikaw pa. (jumpcut) So you do a whole lot more with a whole lot less.
Whether a reporter or a student, the internet is a powerful tool for social change.
MARIA RESSA: What is your power? Where you’re getting it from and how can you use it? What we’re trying to do in Rappler is to actually use our facebook, our twitter anything that we do on social media or the internet to actually help development.
And what about journalists? What is at stake for them?
Ressa says it doesn’t matter what journalists have done in the past, they must adapt to this new media or become obsolete.
Voltaire Tupaz, Rappler, Cebu.

– Rappler.com