“Technology Without Good Manners Is A Disaster”

GMRC is an acronym for “Good Manners And Right Conduct”. I only knew this because it was included in our cards back when I was a junior high school student. I’ll admit, I wasn’t a big fan of it simply because I don’t understand what was it all about. Although, It was explained to us as to how we “behave” inside the school, which I thought doesn’t makes sense at all. How could teachers give or make out grades out of manners? The way we act in front of them? Would teachers consider learning more about the real attitudes of the students at all? And things like that.

For starters, It is great to know the difference between conduct and manners since I myself once had a misconception about it. From what I learned, manners are the way how people live, or something that an individual is used on doing. Like habits. A great example of this is using “po” and “opo” to someone older than us. Just by that, It can already be an indication if someone is well-mannerd or not. Conduct however, is the so called manner of how one behaves in a certain event or specific situation. It is proven and tested that even myself acts differently inside the classroom and at home. Mainly because I’m more comfortable with the people around there. Think of it as how we’re completely different in Facebook and Twitter.

Having good manners can truly shape one’s personality. From decision making, to knowing how to rightfully act in front of people. Having values isn’t enough, It needs to be practiced, to be executed and repeated for it to be called manners. In that way, an individual can apply it in the people around him/her, in the society, even in technologies and media platforms such as social medias, which I will be focusing on today.

We people created this digital society wherein we interact with people with the same interests as us. Having a “safe haven” in the internet surely feels satisfying and  can be a great source of happiness that even sometimes, we get too comfortable that it already became bad for us. Hacking, cyber bullying, fake news, selling of illegal stuff, addiction of games, you name it. And as the technology improves, It is only an amount of time when we determine what more other things people can do in the future.

As what the DepEd Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla said, “Technology Without Good Manners Is A Disaster”. How we truly act and think as person can also be a great influence on how we are online. That’s why with mindful of values, in lined with good manners and conduct, we can use technology as an instrument for us to grow as an individual and at the same time, improve our society. As a media and technology literate person, we should target the development using or taking advantage of all the platforms given and laid out for us. Being a student shouldn’t restrict our contributions as a responsible citizen.