Question of the Day: A Social Media Experiment on Facebook

I have read articles about how one's personality, attitude, or even how the current state of your life reflect your posting and comments on social media.

So I decided to conduct my own social media experiment to test the theories.

Blasted from the Past
Last year, in October 2017, I posted on a Facebook group page of the citizens of a local Philippine city a photo of iron railings on a city sidewalk, blocking the path of pedestrians.

I posted the time and date of the photo, and why the scene was wrong on so many levels.

Hours after that, the city officials took care of the problem and posted explanations, which the citizens were thankful for. Hmm. Those city officials were probably just enjoying their airconditioned offices and were not to be bothered by whatever was happening on the city's streets.

Well, we, the citizens of the streets and netizens in social media, have to, to borrow Anderson Cooper's words, "keep them honest". We have to make them accountable. After all, we pay for their salaries.

But during the weekend, when I saw a table (yes, a home furniture!) blocking a sidewalk that is used by the elderly, women with babies and kids, and everyone else, I immediately thought how thoughtless that person/persons who put it there!

The sidewalk is a public property that should be free of any hindrance at all times as it's used by pedestrians.

So, an idea came to mind. Let me test the members of Victoriahanon Kami Facebook group as to find out who are smart enough to see what's wrong with the picture. 

Question of the day
Titled 'Kuwestiyon ob da di', a rephrased 'question of the day' written as if spoken in a hard Hiligaynon accent, my post included a street photograph of a sidewalk where the said table sat. This sidewalk was along the national highway.

I took the photo because, at first, I wondered why is there an impediment on the sidewalk where pedestrians, including children, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, mothers carrying babies, and elderly people pass.

While the table sat there blocking the pedestrians that pass, the person or persons who put the table there in the first place just DID NOT CARE.

So, five days after I posted the photo, it gained about 175 likes and lots of comments, which I categorized into three: (1) comments from people who just wanted to have fun as the question posed seemed like a joke; (2) negative comments from pessimists and people living miserable lives; and (3) comments from people responsible for the table being there or those who knew the people actually responsible.

1. Comments from people who just wanted to have fun! 

As I asked as to why the table was there people came up with funny answers to the joke.

All of it was in Hiligaynon though.

2. Negative comments, which probably reflect the commenter's pessimism or his/her miserable life.

3. I think these comments are from people responsible, or people who knew those responsible for the table being on the sidewalk.

These are (above) the angriest of all comments, which made me think he had something to do with the table or the house next to that sidewalk. Hmm. If I'm right, shouldn't he be thinking about the safety of the pedestrians passing by the sidewalk of the house, not about the post?

This comment (above) says, "Ging, the table outside  your house".

This comment above, I think, calls out the person living there. 

This commenter (above) probably had no idea about public safety. She said "it's a small issue". But what if I told her that I personally know of an elderly lady who regularly passes through this sidewalk with her female alalay almost every morning to hear Mass at the parish church, which is a few meters from this spot. 

The table blocking the sidewalk prevents the two people from walking side by side, forcing the alalay to walk behind the elderly lady, and not right next to her to hold her and keep her balanced and safe.

No winner
On my post, I said the best answer would win a prize: a used table. Ha-ha-ha!

But sadly, nobody won here. Why?

Nobody got my message about public safety. The people who put that table didn't care about the safety of pedestrians passing as long as the table served their interest. The sidewalk is a public property for everyone's use but it seemed it was for their family's personal use anytime.

I also learned that we comment on social media based on how we wanted things to be. Some people living a good life don't care or are sensitive about other people's situations. As long as they could comment, that's it.

I also learned that people who are negative, or whose lives may not be a rosy, comment negatively or want to drag other people down. Although I am sure it's not true about all people with problems.

So, let me ask you this: if you saw that post, how would you have commented?

Or better yet, what was your actual comment? 

PS. 

I also posted this on the same Facebook group. I was trying to help the local tourism team that doesn't seem to know how to promote the city on social media. This post has at least 900 likes as of this writing with lots of commenters agreeing to my suggestion. They have yet to take action. :-(