From fact-checking to catfishing, Ben&Ben recalls personal stories using social media, the internet

On February 8, the award-winning nine-piece band Ben&Ben recalled their personal stories using social media and the internet.

During the media conference for Google and Ben&Ben’s music collaboration Mag-Ingat, band members Agnes Reoma, Pat Lasaten, and Jam Villanueva shared personal experiences using the digital platforms.

Reoma said she always fact-checks and cross-check references every time she receives information from the internet.

“Personally, ever since-sobra akong, like my friends can attest to this, lagi akong nagsasabi ng linyang, na-Google mo na ba ‘yan? Or like pag may tinatanong silang something, chineck mo ba ‘yung YouTube. 

“As in I always say that talaga na parang– so far naman, sana di naman mangyari na maloko ako online. Kasi, I really rely on fact-checking and cross-checking everything, I read talaga.”  

Lasaten admitted that she fell victim to parody accounts that would post hoaxes about the death of Pinoy celebrities.

“Ako kasi nabibiktima ako nung mga akala mo namatay ‘yung person, kasi ‘yung pagka-edit ng photo, black and white. Tapos nakalagay sa edad na ganito-ganyan. Tapos makikita ko ‘ha? hala patay na ba siya?’ tapos makikita ko parody account pala. 

“So okay, joke time pala. So it’s such a big thing to be on the internet, and we need to be proactive in making sure that each one of us is safe on the internet.”

Villanueva then recalled her encounter with online shopping and how she validated the legitimacy of the product she planned to purchase through her peers.

“Ako kasi, I wasn’t a big fan of online shopping pre-pandemic. Tapos noong nagka-pandemic, everyone was forced to go virtual. Everyone was] forced to go online to buy things. Tapos may time na naghahanap ako ng second hand stuff. So I found something online. Tapos bago ko siya bilihin, I made sure to ask my friends. 

“Kasi, I was looking for a film cam, tapos I asked my friends who were already part of the community and who already knew each other from the community, tapos I made sure na, ‘Is this person reliable? Is this person trustworthy? Has he sold other film cameras before? Tapos, through verification [and] proper questioning of people from the industry, I made sure na who I [would be buying] from was legit and was trusted.”

She then shared her family’s encounter with catfishing involving her younger sibling and an adult pretending to be a minor.

“I have a little brother kasi, and he just started using a platform for social interaction. Tapos may time na we found out that he was messaging someone. And that person was pretending to be a child, and we realized that he wasn’t; he was like an adult. Tapos sobrang sketchy. Like security ng family, everything. 

“We kept our brother from using the platform for a while, and as a family, being the older people surrounding him, we learned online how we could prevent this type of catfishing online.” 

Villanueva noted that they educated themselves as a family to protect her younger brother.

“And this type of scary, scary stuff. Like sobrang takot na takot kami as a family nun. Tapos ‘yun we really educated ourselves–taught ourselves what to watch out for, what questions to ask, or even if continue to interact with the person.”

As for Google and Ben&Ben’s collaboration song, Mag-Ingat conveys a message of online safety that is a shared responsibility for all its users. 

It addresses online threats such as scams, misinformation, catfishing, and the importance of critical thinking and verifying information through trusted sources to protect oneself and others. 

The song is currently available on Ben&Ben’s YouTube page and all digital music services worldwide.

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