It’s Not All the Time “Cultural Appreciation”

by Niña Mae C. Oliverio

Featuring the Philippines, the Filipinos, or the Filipino culture in vlogs is a great way and strategy to make the Philippines known to others. However, in this age, it can be used either as a form of cultural appreciation or capitalization. This strategy is termed “Filipino baiting” or “Pinoy baiting.”

In an age where entertainment is achieved in just a few clicks and touches on our smart devices, we get to enjoy videos of our preferences. As audiences, contents that are “clickbait” tend to tease us to watch the published content that intrigued us. With this, we have the inclination to watch it to pacify our curiosity. This is how “Pinoy baiting” is inspired.

“Pinoy baiting” is an internet slang for a marketing strategy exercised by content creators to target and attract Filipino audiences to gain views rapidly, especially on YouTube. However, the case is that these content creators are not Filipinos. They are often foreign vloggers who use the Philippines or the Filipino culture for clicks and benefits, albeit having a fraction of knowledge about the country or its citizens. Consequently, this is something that can infuriate some Filipinos.

While non-Filipino people earn the merits, the Filipino culture is also being exposed to viewers worldwide. If foreign content creators choose to feature Philippine-related content, there is nothing wrong about it. If they appreciate our culture that much, then it is great; but, there has to be a distinction between using the Philippines for appreciation, and using the country and its culture for capitalization and profit.

Through the years, YouTube has been one of the social media platforms often used by social media users. In the Digital 2021 Report by research firms Hootsuite and We Are Social, the Philippines remains on the top rank as the country whose citizens spend the most time on social media. This indicates that some content creators can expect a pretty large number of viewers from the Philippines, especially whenever our country is featured or mentioned in their titles or thumbnails. Some content creators exercise this strategy, but to be clear, not all international content creators do things like this.

For instance, in 2021, Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin (popularly known as Nas Daily), has irked the attention of the Filipino community for putting up an online masterclass on “Nas Academy” which features Apo Whang-Od, the notable Kalinga tattooist from the Butbut tribe for 80 years.

However, Whang-Od’s granddaughter Gracia Palicas revealed that it was “a scam.”

In an article by Inquirer.Net in August 2021, Palicas wrote in her deleted Facebook post that Whang-Od was not aware of Nas Daily’s contract—referring to the tattoo workshops. She claimed that other people take advantage of Butbut tribe’s culture and pleaded to stop disrespecting the legacy of her grandmother.

In YouTube, a channel must reach at least 1,000 subscribers for the monetization of content. In 2020, Google reported that there are over 40 million YouTube users aged 18 and above in the Philippines. This data shows that Filipinos have eventually become a significant part of the number of views of any video content.

It is a great honor that the Philippines is featured by foreign people in their content, but if it becomes a way to garner quick engagements, and earn subscribers and views, that is definitely another story. The Filipino people are supportive. We are quick to react and adapt to fads and trends. We also get excited about the content that entails something about a representation of Filipino pride. Therefore, it must have been better if content creators featured the Philippines from their honest interest in the country and not for money and fame.

If this Pinoy baiting cycle continues to run, we would not be able to discern well if content creators truly appreciate our culture. Social media users have to watch thoroughly if vloggers using Filipino content are authentic with their intention—whether they truly love our country or not.

Filipinos must also see if the content is well-researched and accurate. Meanwhile, for content creators, they have to remember that taking advantage of the supportiveness of the Filipinos could become a form of exploitation. We Filipinos tend to express our authentic reactions to things that excite us, so we also deserve to be appreciated genuinely.

Content creators have to be responsible for whatever they want to publish. Featuring a country’s people or culture is a crucial matter, and even regardless of their intention, any type of cultural baiting is not something to be amused of.