Anyone can be a ‘vlogger’ these days. As long as you have a phone with a camera, a social media account, and access to internet, you can create content. In the age of technology, we all have that much power at our fingertips.
That’s why it’s no surprise that during the pandemic, as the number of motorcycle riders in the Philippines boomed, so did the motovloggers. Not that it wasn’t a thing yet pre-COVID, but we did see a huge uptick in these ‘content creators’ as more and more people started getting on bikes.
That sounds like it’s all well and good, right? If more motovloggers get big on social media, then it’ll only help promote the motorcycle industry, right? Right. The problem is, there are a few bad apples. And the few bad apples can already cause a lot of problems.
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Let’s circle back a bit to why I’m talking about all of these in the first place. Bakit nga ba? In case you’ve been living under a rock, a motovlogger named Yanna recently went viral for all the wrong reasons. She was involved in a road-rage incident where she flipped off a fellow motorist driving a pickup, caught everything on camera, and shared it on social media. Honestly, I want to pick it all apart and point out everything I see wrong, but the Internet has done that already.
Instead, I’ll pick apart this statement I saw online from a certain public figure. He said Yanna was “better than this” and that she would learn from her mistakes. He also said that what transpired was just a result of the heat of the moment. Well, I see a few problems with that.
The video wasn’t posted live, was it? Surely, if she had enough time to edit and post her Insta360 video, she also had enough time to cool down and think about what happened thoroughly before sharing it for all of the Internet to see. She had enough time to assess whether or not putting the video out there was the right thing to do. But she did anyway, and now we’re all here.
Plus, what irks me about this is that people would just happily give these motovloggers passes. Bakit nga ba? Is it because they’re famous? If it were a regular citizen involved in this, would the public say the same? You tell me.
If we’re going to give these people free passes, then first we should also hold them to higher standards. We should expect them to act as role models not just online, but also on their bikes and on the road. With or without cameras rolling. Instead of spreading hate, kamote behavior, or just useless brain rot content, why not make better use of their platforms?
This is the reason I’ve always taken offense when people call us journalists ‘vloggers.’ There’s a big difference. Vloggers, more often than not, don’t answer to anyone but themselves. That’s why there’s no check and balance. If it’s their page, they have complete control of whatever happens with it. Meanwhile, for us at Top Gear Philippines, we have editors—heck, an entire team—to keep everything in check. We make sure facts are accurate and opinions like these are balanced. In whatever we do, there’s integrity.
Of course, there are still some good apples among these motorcycle content creators and influencers. You have Zach Lucero of Makina, who—correct me if I’m wrong—coined the term ‘tae’ content when he started calling out the motovloggers who kept speeding on public roads and sharing footage of it on social media just for clicks. Unsurprisingly, he also has his take on all this.
There’s also my good friend Phillip Elliot, more popularly known as JT of MoTour Pilipinas. Not only does he help promote moto tourism (and just tourism in general), but he also uses his vlogs to educate viewers about road safety.
There’s Kuya Kim Atienza as well, who’s been one of the most prominent names in the community and across the industry for years. If there’s one thing I learned from Kuya Kim, it’s to leave your ego at the door whenever you go out for a ride. While I can’t say I’ve perfected it, there’s a constant effort to do so. It’s also something I wish all riders would remember whenever they get on the saddle.
We can’t expect everybody to be like these people. But hopefully, the recent series of events will really, really, make people think before they click from here on in. If you’re going to call yourself an influencer, well, at the very least use that so-called influence of yours for good.
