Iloilo City is known by many titles. Now, the title “Facebook Capital of the Philippines” can be added into the mix.

Recently, a Rappler article reported about the number of Facebook Monthly Active Users (MAU) in the Philippines.

The stats are staggering and when delving even deeper — by determining the number of users, and the census population of major cities, Iloilo City easily topped the list by having the highest user-to-population ratio.

The source of user data is Facebook’s Audience Insight tool — a feature that aims to help advertisers effectively target a desired demographic in the platform.

The said ratio expressed in percentage is called Facebook’s Penetration Rate and Iloilo city has a whopping penetration rate of 223.22% to 334.83%.

Nothing is 100% accurate, even (especially) Facebook data.

According to Facebook audience insights, Iloilo City has 1 to 1.5 Million active users.

Then according to 2015 census, the city has a population of only 447,992 — this number includes infants and geriatrics. Now imagine each individual having 2 to 3 active Facebook accounts.

The statistics imply that each Iloilo City resident from age 0 upwards have more than 1 active Facebook account.

People from municipalities outside Iloilo city would often put in their profiles that they are living in Iloilo City. This is very common among Ilonggos.

Additionally, Ilonggos living outside the country would also put in Iloilo City as the place of their residence in their profiles simply because of pride of origin.

In Facebook’s eyes, they are considered residents of Iloilo City but that is not the case with census, thus the huge discrepancy. The reason why the number of active users according to Facebook is ridiculously high.

Regardless, Ilonggos are undeniably devoted Facebook addicts… erm, users. And many have more than one account.

Honestly, I am not sure what to feel about this.

As a digital or social media marketer, this is certainly great news. Basically this means the Ilonggo market can easily be reached on Facebook. Ad and promotional campaigns on the platform can be very valuable for any business.

However as an Ilonggo I cannot completely say that I’m proud of the title because Facebook can be a cesspool of fakery, narcissism, nastiness, and bigotry. Realizing that Ilonggos proliferate in this platform more than anyone else saddens me a bit.

It is a dangerous place for the naive and gullible.

I have been studying social media trends and behavior almost half my life and made quite a decent living out of it as a digital marketer.

In order to really know what ticks and clicks, I immersed myself in Facebook. Saying that I am an avid social media user is an understatement. I am active in various social networks — both for work and personal reasons.

And I tell you…

Facebook is a toxic place.

Lots of crazies out there, and they can get to you!

You can either be one of them, or hate them so much that you become one of them, or… you simply learn the ability and have the emotional maturity to filter and process the posts you encounter.

F.O.M.O., cyber-bullying, fake news, and pressures of social approval online are real. In my opinion, they are cancers of the modern society — perhaps the price we pay for the conveniences of easy communication and connectivity, and instant accessibility of information.

Social media, in analogy, is a double-edged sword but we seem to be using the deadly edge more than other.

Wishful Thinking

I know, Facebook without narcissists, trolls, and bigots is a pipe dream. Nevertheless I am hoping there would be less of the negative stuff in the future.

In its pure form, Facebook is all about connecting with old friends and making new ones; building communities and sharing ideas.

Without a doubt, Facebook has done what it supposed to, but it has also done more than that. It created a new kind of human need — online social acceptability.

Social media greatly influences what we think or do, it shapes our society. But we also shape social media, and we can take it where we want it to go. It’s constantly evolving with us.

Ilonggos can make social media better. Let’s take it there.