“WHAT you put out into the world will come back to you.” ― Joyce Pring
So, what is a ‘Marites?’ Some of my friends from Western society asked me what a Marites means. The term ‘marites’ is a Filipino counterpart of ‘Karen’ in the US.
The word, ‘Marites’ is often used to refer to individuals, particularly among women, who are overly talkative or gossipy and they are also skillful at gathering and circulating information as a means of gaining social influence and control.
Gossip is one of the favorite pastimes among Filipinos and has taken a toll on social media, posing threats of conceivably increasing disinformation in the country. Take the current breakups of Filipino celebrities such as Bea Alonzo and Dominic Roque or Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo as examples of how made-up stories and gossip can handily be distinguished as the truth. With the use of social media platforms, ‘Marites’ who disseminate information using online channels are made susceptible to public deception, considering some Filipinos are still illiterate about reliable sources of information.
Not only that it can also lead to damaging trust within relationships and communities as it builds an environment of uncertainty and insecurity, harms the reputations of individuals by spreading false or unreasonable information, leading to excessive outcomes, and tends to focus on negative aspects of other people's lives.
So, Here are some of the tips that we may able to learn from this kind of scenario of not being a ‘Marites.’
*Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.
Who would want to be talked about critically right now? So if you ever feel like you’re going to become interested in others' troubles, I think you should ask yourselves, “What good will it bring me”?
“If anything happened to me, would I be thrilled to be the topic of the issue?”
Think about it. Be mindful of your words, thoughts, and actions, and actively recognize when you are tempted to engage in gossip. Also, refrain from sharing unverified information that you have not personally confirmed or verified as accurate.
Just a friendly reminder…
“Think before you click!”
