Is Laughter Our Best Medicine?

Posted by Contributor | Posted on May 17, 2023

“It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

For years… this famous tagline has attracted tourists and businesses to the Philippines. But it relates to more than just the tourist destinations like El Nido and Baguio: it refers to the happy-go-lucky nature of Filipinos too.

Filipinos are indeed joyful despite crises and disasters; they are still able to make a joke about their situation and use it as a coping mechanism. As the local saying goes, “problema lang ‘yan, itawa lang natin ‘yan!” – meaning every problem will come to pass, so let’s laugh about it instead.

In recent years, the natural humour and creativity of Filipinos have been enhanced by internet memes. The funny faces of different personalities on the internet, movie lines, or even randomly funny moments on national television have all become meme material.

Laughter, as they say, is the best medicine. Though this is not exactly a scientific cure, humour is still necessary for people. It gives them a sense of satisfaction to make fun of things; in effect, their minds get to relax and their stress is reduced. As memes have run rampant on social media, they have even become an aid for educators and professionals who use the platform to catch everyone’s attention and give them a little knowledge about certain things.

Take, for example, that biology-related meme where people emphasise the function of the mitochondria as the powerhouse of the cell. Even though it is defined in relatively few words, those words are enough for people to ponder it and understand that the mitochondria are indeed the powerhouse of the cell!

The meme revolution can serve as medicine for people as fake news and misinformation on the internet spread like a virus. Filipinos in this generation keep believing the internet as it seems facts as it was provided pictures as “evidence” and a catchy caption.

Continuously educating people through others who are more knowledgeable in different fields of society is its own kind of “medicine.” If educating people through memes to catch everyone’s attention and give awareness in a satirical way can help in this regard, then that is all the better for everyone.

 

Other good reads...

International Women’s Month: A Salute to the Mothers, Sisters and Wives of the HAPI community

This month, we celebrated women all across the globe and their contributions to humanity throughout the many lives and generations we’ve spent on this good Earth. HAPI women were recently featured in The Atlantic for their steadfast willingness to make a difference in the country of the Philippines where secular and humane values are often […]

Creating HAPI Awareness and Charity

HAPI Awareness? what is it? Creating HAPI awareness is top priority in marketing and promotion for a society to flourish and grow. There are different ways in HAPI promotion but in this location, Zumba is the HAPI way, and of course, charity. How can we create something new in a far-flung barangay in Cebu? One […]

IP Day Highlights Indigenous People’s Struggle for Identity and Rights

By Glemir Sordilla and Joshua Villalobos HAPI Scholars Did you know? Over 476 million indigenous people live in 90 countries all over the world, accounting for 6.2 percent of the global population. August 9 marks the annual celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. This honors the same day back in 1982 […]

You Haven’t Met Me Yet: HAPI Scholars Edition

You Haven’t Met Me Yet: HAPI Scholars Edition by Donna T. Darantinao Dumaguete City   “It’s like all my life everyone’s told me, “You’re a shoe! You’re a shoe! You’re a shoe!” Well, what if I don’t want to be a shoe? What if I wanna be a purse or a hat? No, I don’t […]

“Humanism” in 6 Philippine Languages

So yes, when it comes to humanism, actions truly speak louder than words… but make no mistake, words can still be pretty powerful! And so we at Humanist Alliance Philippines, International, in acknowledgment and appreciation of the rich diversity of languages in our country, would like to present the Bikolano, Bisaya, Hiligaynanon, Ilokano, Tagalog, and […]

Kindness and Giving

    Kindness and Giving by: Meimei Hammer Kindness and giving most of the time go hand in hand. However, there is a major difference between the two. The dictionary says, “Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate”. The RAK or Random Acts of Kindness was founded in 1995 to inspire people […]

HAPI & EVO Riders Club Phils. collab for Anti-COVID Campaign

Mutya Valenzuela / Sept. 18, 2020 / Metro Manila This coming September 27, 2020, HAPI ALABANG and EVO RIDERS CLUB PHILS. MUNTINLUPA will go around Muntinlupa City to distribute Face masks and Face shields to Pedicab and Trolley Drivers in an effort to help them fight COVID-19. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) is an infectious […]

Posted in ,
Tags:

About The Author

Maui Del Mundo

Maui Del Mundo is a HAPIsko.

Scroll to Top