What’s your social media IQ?
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
Social media is the arena into which you walk and you are suddenly accosted by peddlers, hawkers, snake-oil salesmen, politicians, influencers, advertisers, spies, magicians, and thieves. The scientists, professors, and fact dispensers are somewhere out in the hallway down by the popcorn stand chewing their nicely salted and buttered popped corn and laughing.
How are we supposed to get through to them without losing our sanity and sense?
Some people online are simply better to associate with than others. What are the factors that set them apart?
- They are well-read so they understand more. Not everything, but they are smart enough to know what they don’t know.
- They are emotionally stable enough to meet objection with an explanation, question, or data, not call names or get chippy.
- They teach, they don’t preach. Teachers have ears as well as mouths, and curiosity rather than dogmatism.
- They don’t need to put on a show, earn You Tube revenue, or generate clicks.
- They don’t lie, game words, or leave important facts out to get you to like what they are saying or peddling.
- They have principles not a win-loss record to maintain, so they don’t really have “sides”. They have understandings to seek or deliver.
- They are not one-issue obsessed like pro-lifers who would vote for a corrupt schmuck because he is pro-life; they are not 100 percenters expecting the good to be perfect or they’ll vote for the bad.
These people, it seems to me, have a high social media IQ. I have a lot of followers on social media with high social media IQs and some who are peddlers. The peddlers often don’t realize they are peddlers. I sometimes suspect Yellows are anti-Marcos peddlers. But maybe that is softening as the reality of Sara Duterte looms.
If you want to know an example of a high IQ person, read what regular commenters here at the blog write. They are high IQ. The best I know is Irineo B. R. Salazar. Reads and remembers. Studies. Listens. Builds contexts before drawing conclusions. Is peddling nothing that I know of. Writes fast and writes well. Writes sense. I’d give him a social media IQ score of 150, definitely mensa.
Advertisers and DDS are in the 80s. Well, advertisers are higher, maybe 100, because, even if they are peddling, they are not destructive of sense and civility, or the Philippines.
The anti-Marcos Yellows are maybe 115. Good people, generally, lots to offer, but they are peddlers which removes the objectivity and constructive intent from the rest of their views. They are arguing with handcuffs on their brains.
I’m probably not much higher, although I try to teach rather than preach. I get defensive easily when challenged and that makes me blind. Keeping one’s cool is hard when others are right in your face spewing spit. So I know what I have to work on to get a score upgrade. And I sometime write intentionally to be provocative which is disingenuous. Or maybe it’s a teaching method, I dunno. Socratic.
In any event, I expect to start giving out scores to people who engage with me on social media. Anything above 120 means you are very good for social media, and humanity.
The scores will be in pencil so they can be erased as new data come in.
Yours for sense and civility, Joe,
_________________________
Cover photo generated by Word Press image generator using the blog article as the basis for the prompt.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
I used to stand down the hall and chew popcorn back in the days when I realized Zuckerberg was just trying to get laid in college. Yeah, I thought it was funny filling our those forms where you rated movies you liked, until my preferences matched up with my boss (whom I absolutely loathed) and I took down my profile to start a new one based on false data inputs and kept my real personal stuff out of it.
Watching the evolution of what social media has become today makes me realize that it was always going to be an invitation to Hell, no matter what positive aspects folks tried to make of it. Sure, there are the teachers and the talkers and the trolls and the absolute bat shit crazies that interrupt the ads filling our feeds. And I don’t think it is as easy to start an account with false inputs as I once did back in the last century.
Nutty as it is, it is also the method by which people can mobilize for a good cause (Arab Spring for example). Social media didn’t exist in its present state for the People Power revolution, but it is supercharged now in comparison and the Trillion Peso March against corruption had less than 100,000 (with a handful of provocateurs running around creating a totally off message ruckus). Sure, the No Kings protests in America got their message out but it remains to be seen what it will accomplish. Social media warned us about Project 2025 and it’s happening anyway.
So I guess my IQ score would be low, if I am to marked (not judged), by your standards. I’ll put my badge under my facebook profile and get 1000 likes (haha, some joke as I have less than 200 friends). Or I could use it as click bait on my channel. Either way, I’ll remain the drunken observer down the hall drinking beers, and watch as the revolution plays out.
There was no social media when Gil Scott-Heron said “the revolution will not be televised”.
Enjoyable read, Stephen. You characterize the hilarity of the chaos well, where we are both victim and provocateur. And popcorn muncher. I’m reminded of swimming among jellyfish and poisonous sea snakes to get a glimpse of the beauty of a totally foreign habitat.
ahem, I always get highest score way off the richter scale, and always given wide berth that people cross street just to avoid me. they look over their shoulders too, see how far they are from yours truly humbly. it is certainly not nice to be uberly popular and invisible at the same time. I have long stopped figuring out the whys and the wherefores. such mysteries are completely out of me woeful pay grade, haha.
anyhow, I was probly draconian lawmaker in me past horrible life, I have this itch to ink into law and punish those who hide behind face masks in marches and rallies (no face, no case, as in the trillion peso march) and then proceeded to commit thuggeries most profane as in high end looting, destroying lovingly and carefully tended properties, committing uber violent acts vs police present that police end up severely maimed and needing several days stay in hospitals, further creating chaos and distraction in order to cover up their violent acts by throwing molotov bombs at marchers and rallyistas, etc. I would make their punishments twice as heavy. hiding their faces to commit crimes constitute premeditation.
as well, this is still me old draconian past horrible life speaking as lawmaker: future lgus coordinating with government officials when accepting infra projects as in flood control projects deemed complete and finished, to show not only signed documentary paper as evidence of completion, but accompanying picture too. that lgu officials were there present in body and soul (not proxies!) and holding legal documents signed and dated, the infras accepted as well and truly complete.
without picture, documents signed are no longer reliable these days for it is indeed uberly and very easy for anyone to just say, my signature is forged! I did not sign that blasted document! I was out of town!
and to cap it all off, me old draconian past horrible life as lawmaker turned mad inquisitor, also impostor of, watch it! death penalty. like what me present self thus shunned have once said, I cannot remember when and where to have said it and cannot find the selfie to prove I have indeed said it! that death penalty be imposed! on twice, thrice, grievous repeat offenders no rehab can vouched as truly rehabbed. exceptions? when the grim reaper had come calling ala jeffrey enstien, and spoiled the fun.
That is an excellent point on masks signifying premeditation. Excellent. I refuse to discuss the death penalty because it causes my brain great confusion. I wonder what social media, and the diminishing trust in anything that comes from outside our bubble, does to our psyche. Hmmmm. What do we fill our brains with? The stuff we don’t trust or fear? It is a puzzlement.
the queen of hearts said, off with their heads!
what do we fill our brains with? mine is full of question marks. like when orly guteza the basurero who supposedly carried suitcases brimming with millions of pesos to malakanyang compound to be delivered to rep romualdez who supposedly resided therein, the compound is almost like a fortress and heavily guarded thus, so if orly guteza is not a slight footed ninja or the invisible man, guards should have seen orly guteza, his presence as well as the vehicle he was in, both noted in the logbook, timed and dated and how long orly stayed therein.
can the guards therefore collaborate with certainty what orly guteza was indeed in the compound? in uncollaborated, it could well mean orly guteza is telling fibs.
with death penalty, we might not have Leila de Lima in Congress now after seven years in wrongful imprisonment. And we are already seeing a possible fake witness and fake affidavit in the Senate right now based on what I have seen on Twitter. What Vice Ganda did not consider when calling for the death penalty is that Inday Sara might be the first to use it on him/her if she wins in 2028. Alternatively she might send him to jail in mainland China. Her justification might be he/she joked about jetskis and The Hague and that’s just the same to her.
good lord, xi jin ping might die of laughter if vice ever set foot in china mainland! vice might even become a bigger star than she is now, and all sara can do is bitterly bite her fingernails in regret.
My socmed IQ and EQ is still monkey see monkey do and bandwagon
The chances are quite high that corruption scandals in the Philippines will be absorbed into the “short memories” and “short attention spans” pattern among Filipinos, for several interrelated reasons:—1. Media and Attention EconomyNews cycles in the Philippines are fast-moving, with scandals often overshadowed by the next big issue (natural disasters, celebrity news, political drama).Scandals dominate headlines for weeks or months but fade once new controversies emerge, especially in the age of social media where virality is fleeting.—2. Political CultureMany politicians accused of corruption manage comebacks after a few years of “cooling off,” often by running for another post (even higher positions).The “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude) and patronage networks sometimes matter more to voters than corruption allegations.A sense of resignation (“lahat naman magnanakaw”) weakens accountability and allows offenders to return.—3. Weak Institutional MemoryInvestigations are prolonged and often inconclusive.Few convictions lead to closure, making scandals feel unresolved but not transformative.Without institutional reforms, corruption cases rarely lead to systemic change.—4. Cultural DispositionFilipinos tend to prioritize immediate survival concerns—jobs, food, and security—over abstract systemic reforms.Emotional and personalistic politics mean people focus more on personalities (whether they “help” or “relate”) than on institutional integrity.Bayanihan and resilience narratives sometimes translate into quickly “moving on” rather than sustaining outrage.—5. Historical PrecedentMarcos Sr.’s dictatorship corruption: billions stolen, yet the family returned to power.Estrada’s ouster (2001): convicted of plunder, later pardoned, re-elected as mayor.Gloria Arroyo’s scandals: arrested for plunder but eventually cleared, then re-entered politics.“Pork barrel scam”: huge public outcry, but many implicated senators and congressmen still have political footholds today.—✅ Conclusion:Corruption scandals in the Philippines often fade from public memory and lose political traction, unless they are tied to ongoing hardships (e.g., overpriced pandemic supplies during COVID-19 when people were directly suffering). This cycle is reinforced by weak institutions, personality-driven politics, and an attention economy that favors novelty over continuity.—Would you like me to also map which corruption scandals are most likely to “stick” long-term versus those that Filipinos tend to “forget” quickly?
I disagree with that one as each storm refreshes the people’s anger. And I’ve never seen justice move as fast as on this one with names named, assets frozen, and witnesses running into DOJ in droves to make sure they are protected while they tell all. The main disruptor is Senator Marcoleta. It will be interesting to see how Senate President Sotto deals with loose cannons.
Yes, including actual freezing of assets in such a hot country, but I think a lot of Senators understood how angry Filipinos are. I saw on X how apparently some online Pinoys cyberstalked Rep. Zaldy Co including his flight to Madrid and his hotel.
Thanks BTW for the compliment. I guess I am quite cautious by now as I have seen how quickly one can jump to wrong conclusions. Blogging a lot including tons of analytical coaching by Edgar back in the days helped me get here too. Good foundation in terms of academic analysis from both parents. Plus a dose of horse sense from my yaya and her Auntie, our labandera, inspite of the former being a bit off the mark at times and the latter having been a classic Marcos Sr. loyalist, but don’t we all try to make the best of what is given us and don’t we all have some blinders, I think being aware of our non-infallibility is important.
zaldy co’s world is getting smaller and he is being hemmed in. aside from his travel clearance being cancelled, he has been put on blue notice where interpol will track his whereabouts and activities. he has until 29 september to return to philippines and face justice. for one who is supposed to be sick, zaldy co is quite a hopper, hopping from continent to continent.
Someone should do a movie. “The Adventures of Zaldy Co”. Coco Martin could play Co.
enrile has been censured post edsa, maybe macoleta can be censured too.
I rather doubt it. I’d say the opposite, more like pin ball machine, or chasing monkeys with a stick.
Chasing monkeys …liked
And yes Pinoys do have elephant memories on certain issues.
In my late teens, my father got very mad at me as he caught me gossiping about something, saying that gossip is for baklas and real men should keep quiet and analyze. Sometimes when I am tempted to gossip I remember that, as it is a huge temptation. Maybe without that I could be telling everyone here about the major shitstorm against Shuvee Etrata even after her statement, and how her uncle and manager posted something about “kakampwet” being influential in the media but Inday Sara would win in 2028, which he already deleted, or how some are cancelling Kathryn Bernardo and Maine Mendoza but somehow Heart Evangelista seems bulletproof, should I cross-dress now that I wrote this?
that’s weird, second only to anne curtis, kathryn bernardo has more followers than heart evangelista. kathryn B has around 20 million followers, heart 16millions, whereas maine mendoza got around a dismal 4millions. maybe it makes a big difference for heart having two powerful politicos from the most powerful dynasties as sponsors at her grand wedding to chiz in balesin, bong marcos before he was president and sara duterte before she became vice president, both attended the wedding, the unity team resplendent and arm in arm, the marriage made in heaven, imee marcos said of the unity team.
I guess being politically entrenched early on, and spouse to one time senate president, now besieged made heart summat bulletproof, for now.
Quite the consequence of an unstable socmed IQ and EQ
Here’s a summary of recent public opinion / poll numbers for Sara Duterte and who her likely opponents might be for the 2028 Philippine presidential election, based on surveys. If you like, I can pull up more recent or specific numbers by region or demographic.—Current Popularity / Approval / Trust – Sara DuterteFrom various recent surveys:Poll / Source Key Numbers for Sara DutertePulse Asia (March 2025 “Ulat ng Bayan”) Approval rating: ~ 59% (up from ~52% in Feb). Disapproval: ~ 16%. Trust rating: ~ 61%. OCTA (July 2025) Trust dropped to ~ 50% from ~ 54% (in April). Performance satisfaction: ~ 50%. Pulse Asia (Dec 2024) Trust: 49% (down from 61% in Sept). Approval: 50% (from 60% in Sept). So overall: her ratings remain strong, often above 50%, but there’s been a noticeable decline in some polls—especially compared to past highs. Her base (e.g. in Mindanao) remains strong. —Likely Opponents in 2028 (and Their Poll Standing)Surveys have asked hypothetical questions: “If the 2028 election were held now, who would you vote for?” From those, here are the names that often come up, and how they compare with Sara Duterte:Potential Opponent Typical Poll Share vs Sara Duterte Notes / Strengths & WeaknessesRaffy Tulfo (Senator) Often very close. In the Pulse Asia survey (March 2024), Tulfo got ~ 35%, Sara ~ 34%. He has media popularity, appeal in certain demographics, especially outside traditional political clans. But less political-executive experience.Leni Robredo (former VP) Usually well behind Sara. E.g., in WR Numero survey, Robredo had ~ 9-13% vs Sara’s ~ 30-36%. Has strong goodwill among certain sectors (youth, those critical of dynasties). But might face challenges in building momentum.Bong Go (Senator / former close Marcos-ally) In some polls, rising but still behind the front-runners; e.g. in the WR Numero survey, he had ~ 6-7% vs Sara’s ~ 31-36%. Strong ties to the Marcos / admin circle could help, but also may get dragged into controversies of incumbency.Imee Marcos Usually low single digits in many surveys; sometimes ~ 4-7%. Name recognition high (as part of the Marcos political dynasty), but public sentiment toward the Marcos legacy is mixed.Others Manny Pacquiao, Robin Padilla, Risa Hontiveros, Martin Romualdez appear in many polls with smaller shares (often < 5-10%). Some of these have niche support or strong regional appeal, but none seem to be close to overtaking the top few at this time.—Summary: Where Things Are HeadedSara Duterte is consistently among the leading contenders (often first or tied for first) in 2028-presidential preference polls. Her biggest rival in many of these polls is Raffy Tulfo, who comes close or ties with her in some surveys. Leni Robredo remains a strong second-tier contender, with potential to increase her share depending on campaign, messaging, alliances. There is a portion of the electorate that remains undecided in many surveys, which means there’s some fluidity. —If you like, I can get you the latest polls as of September/October 2025 to see how things have shifted more recently.
What impressed me is how strong Bam Aquino ran to get elected senator. The polls missed that one. Maybe the Visayas will wake up, too. So it is not settled even though Duterte’s popularity is perplexing and disturbing.
the cultural roots of Dutertismo are quite deep, essentially the Filipino distrust of big government from colonial times onward (with today’s government officials unfortunately still acting like colonial officials at times) and the romanticized ideal of ancient times with the insane fantasy that the Philippines can be run like one big barangay, with a magical warrior leader at the top – Magsaysay was the last one who embodied that and fortunately in a good way, with just 20 million Filipinos and the far simpler Philippine society of the 1950s.
The formal ideology of Dutertismo is a mix of Filipino authoritarianism/conservatism (old Marcos loyalist thinking) and nationalism (Marcos Sr. in 1965: This nation can be great again) and Far Left slogans against the West, especially the USA. Also a mix of anti-elitist slogans of the old Marcos loyalists (the old elites Marcos Sr. weakened, for instance the Lopez family who used to own both Meralco AND ABS-CBN) and the anti-elitist slogans of the Far Left, their idea that the likes of Mar Roxas, the Ayalas etc. constitute a continuation of colonial rule by new protagonists, and that a Philippines needs a new revolution to be free of these “fake Filipino rulers”. Ideologically a mix of drunk vomit and other stuff in a toilet bowl, but there are people who buy into that smelly stuff wholesale. P.S. there is also a mix of old ideas in Dutertismo similar to those of Ricarte (who refused to stay in a Philippines under American rule and returned with Japanese invaders, his supporters in the 1910s BTW were often the tough guys from Tondo of old) and the Makapili who followed the Japanese occupation slogan of “Asia for Asians” – meaning those who believe that “the white man never can be our friend” so to speak, so add toxic chemicals to the toilet bowl mix.
Hmmm, the bonding of old-school Filipinos, blood brothers, with brutality admired as strength. I sensed that when I lived in the province of Mindinao. Loyalty to the level of violence.
There have been compilations of what is typical for an old school Filipino household, with the https://fatlace.com/big-fork-and-spoon/ as well as the last supper painting and the tinikling dancers being mentioned, but there is one thing I also found very common: the complete Godfather movies, either as VHS if it was until the 1990s and as DVD later.
Historical movies like Goyo (about Gregorio del Pilar, Aguinaldo’s assassin) or accounts of warlord governors and mayors all over the islands during the post-WW2 period show a culture that Don Vito Corleone would not have found unfamiliar. The infamous assassination of Congressman Crisologo of Ilocos Sur during mass at Vigan Cathedral in 1970 is pure Godfather scenery, though I guess nowadays many Filipinos have watched Narcos on Netflix, even as the liking of many Filipinos for Game of Thrones also shows a pretty morbid view of power politics.
Ah yes, The Godfather fits like a glove, power, loyalty, and a bit of violence.
Hmm, I don’t have any agenda? I ever, my agenda of sorts has been to question assumptions and encourage others to do so – but NEVER drift into conspiracy theory territory like for instance LCPL_X.
There is a certain penchant to dogmatic thinking among a lot of Filipinos, a certain tendency to jump to conclusions and then stick to them as if they were established facts. Surely a way to live if survival is the priority, but not a long-term way of learning new things and progressing as a nation.
My agenda now is certainly less on provocation than a decade ago or during my Twitter era until 2022.
You are an intellectual shape shifter. I admire your searching as the fundamental drive. Studying, searching. Learning, teaching. Terrific style.
Just being in the comment threads too long made me up my iq and eq.
I remember my first encounters with parents, Baycas warned parents that I was a veteran. Maybe that warning was for me that I am facing some one who us formidable.
What the heck, nothing fruitful came up with those interlocutions
Indeed, the comments here have long been high IQ, the sweat equity that many put into the blog. Emotions can go either way, up or down. I’ve had several mentors/advisers over the years. You early on, Boom Buencamino, Edgar. And antagonists of whom Parekoy was the greatest and CV the latest.
Parents was supposedly Parekoy hahaha
lol, that makes a whole lot more sense. 😂🤣😂
Hope this never happens.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/960430/chinese-envoy-huang-to-vp-sara-hope-our-bilateral-relations-will-get-back-to-a-sound-and-healthy-track/story/
For sure. Good bye fish, hello corruption.
@Joe
Biliran was hit by that storm. I hope all is well.
It was, some wind gusts that took down a few of our giant bamboos and tons of rain that generated what seems like “normal” landslides and bridge damage.
Just to see your response was a big relief.
Take care.