FOR WHAT had already been almost a week, I’ve noticed several unlisted numbers trying to get in touch with me through WhatsApp on my phone. I thought this quite odd, as these unknown callers could also have just as quickly reached me through my provider. (Then I thought, tough luck too, my phone’s almost always on silent mode during write-days.)
When I asked the matey how come my phone could still be contacted on WhatsApp even when I’ve only set my phone to only receive a few personal contacts, she gave me a short lecture on how the online free app worked.
Moreso how it had become the key of choice (or weapon of choice) for marketers to reach you without spending a dime using Globe calls. Ach, so, if they had somehow gotten hold of my number (which I imagine is floating out there in digital space), they could just use the app and, presto, get through whether I liked it or not.
It was here I remembered some piece I read long ago about the illusion of change. Since we love to believe that we have gone a long way in technology and almost everything, nothing much has really changed. In this case, those often-pesky telemarketers who used to call us on our landlines no end and the door-to-door salespersons knocking at the gates have all just gotten super savvy with WhatsApp nowadays. They have gotten a new toy to get through and annoy us, and better yet, practically now, it’s costing them nothing.
Anyway, this morning, I finally texted back, err, politely replied to one of the callers with the usual “kinsa ni” opener, and after a while, I received her lengthy intro. As it turns out, the person on the other end was just interested in hiring me for an online job which entailed watching TikTok all day. Even though I declined, she insisted I try it out in the next few days as her offer still stands.
I’m thinking, what have I got to lose? All I’ve been reading anyway on the web these days has always been about abductions, rapes, and drug busts. Politics has even upped its prop that it’s almost funny to watch. Looking back to her offer, is there violence and sham at all in TikTok, I wonder?
Then I thought, aside from reading, or rather sifting, through the trash that’s presently on social media and the internet, I’m still giving myself one more chance because there’s still much I wish to do outdoors aside from watering Nanay’s orchids and tennis.
