Facebook or FB... The social network we all know for reconnecting with old friends and new friends is the second leading source of prostitution behind escort service. I am writing this one for the menfolk!
I have been for more than 4 years, monitoring women on Facebook as I go with my daily work life on social media platforms. I often catch the interesting ones. They fascinate me! They amuse me! I have been observing their activities and/or behavior on my Facebook male friends' walls. I couldn't help it... they are after all, an additional update on my news feed. Sadly, for the years that have passed, prostitution has grown so much in the internet world especially in the Philippines and it is happening. It could be happening in your walls right now.
Yes, there are internet-savvy prostitutes in the Philippines. They have left the streets totally and now they tap on their keyboards just as much as search engine optimizers and internet marketing geeks do. They are the very interesting to observe.
I'm not talking about anyone in my list of friends... I know every single one of them on my Facebook. I don't add anyone whom I don't have at least 5 common friends with nor those I haven't had conversation with nor met at all. I have though, accepted friend-suggestions by friends I know because it is very much possible that I meet them.
I'm talking about Filipinas obviously from barrios, towns, provinces and poor areas in Metro Manila and the Philippines... women possibly met by my male friends at bars/clubs (or worse, haven't met them at all) and suddenly become friends with them on the largest social network in the world. They come in various looks... some are beautiful with fairly white skin (mestizas) and some are dark-skinned with exotic looks a.k.a. pinay native beauties... they vary from all looks, shapes, age and sizes!
I don't outright judge these random women I don't know but for my long years of being in the internet and in social media platforms, I see the usual patterns... same personalities, behaviors and activities (M.O. - modus operandi) of these Facebook prostitutes on how they greatly get themselves in the lives of men in Facebook. The usual hard target? MEN!
Sometimes, they come first as individuals to a man's social networking life then they come in as tandems then groups. Sooner or later, I see my friends walls flanked with so many prostitutes and I can't help but be amused. Poor clueless male friends of mine... they don't know that they are already prostitution targets and worse, cyber crime targets. After all, with the hard life for most Pinays in the Philippines the oldest profession in the book and in the world becomes their gateway for a better life.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet THE RANDOM DANGEROUS PROSTITUTES!
They don't solicit sex directly. The strategies are very subtle to begin with as you read along further. It's a long process... they study men. The most common starts with this .... Woman sends friend request to a man. Man accepts friendship and woman posts "Thank you for adding or Thanks for the add" on man's wall without mentioning of them meeting each other even with a simple, "Nice to have met you last night at _____". Common sense right away dictates that the woman has not met the man at all.
Their Easiest Target
A man 's privacy settings are "Public" which means men will be constantly monitored by these women (where he goes, where he hangs out, what days, etc.). Eventually he will be lured then with an invite to a public place, charmed in person, flanked with other prostitutes in the team then victimized once they have already gained your trust.
The common signs that they are bound to do this is that men get to be friend-suggested by the 1st virtual friend to another virtual girl then another from their group to make men feel comfortable about their validity as human beings... that they are real people. They then tag men in their photos, they post on men's walls even when the man has nothing to do with it.... a real marketing strategy publicly shown to the man's other gullible male friends.
Their Second Target
The man's friends are the second target. Next thing you know these prostitutes are in common friends with your friends in the Philippines and off-shore.
Their Third Target
Next thing the man will know is that these prostitutes are friends with his female friends and sooner or later, the identity of your exposed female friends get stolen.
For every single man who adds these women they don't know, the targets get to expand all the more. These women are very cunning. I'm not scaring the menfolk but it is advisable that you add in your social networking sites women or friends you know won't harm you and your friends.
Dear Men... If you think when a woman adds you on Facebook makes you hot, I'd say yes, maybe you are. However, the sad truth about it is... If you don't know these women at all, DO NOT ADD THEM! You are either a hot target for prostitution or worse, cyber crimes in the form of robbery, identity theft, hold-up, kidnapping, etc., not only yourself but your friends as well.
Check your Facebook Privacy Settings or ask a friend who is in the know to help you secure your privacy... to keep random people you have added out of your exposure to public! The internet social life can be far more dangerous than the real social life. Don't be such a loser! Protect yourself at all times! Remember that behind keyboards, is a real person.
It is awesome! Launched by Facebook a few hours ago is the Skype-style video chat feature. Thousands worldwide just got the taste of this great new feature by the social media site. The much awaited feature is indeed a great improvement to messaging system.
Seconds after it was confirmed released, I immediately tested it with a friend and as I was on it, I can't help but wonder the imminent dangers of exposing yourself on such a new and cool application.
The first one that entered my mind are the criminals. Most of us don't really know most of the friends we have on Facebook. Security analysts have warned us before of the precautionary measures to avoid exposing ourselves to criminals who, have not been slow to catch on at all. When they migrated to Twitter and Facebook, I wonder now.... will there be dangers on this new feature too?
Joining social networking sites is really fun and entertaining. I am hooked on Facebook and Google+ and I don't really care about who's going to be better that these two. I'm just one who likes to get in touch with friends once in awhile. However, we do have to be concerned of some of the dangers or what-not-to-do's and the biggest issue will be PRIVACY.
As always, it will be a problem. Although these huge social networking sites constantly find ways to make it secure for us, we are the ones responsible for our own exposures. I can think of only 3 things that can serve as guide on how to avoid getting into trouble when using Facebook Video Calling:
1. Keeping your profile on high privacy is the best solution.
There's a writing there on the top of your FB page that says "Accounts" where you will see the drop-down menu showing you Privacy Settings. Use that. Take good time to read and understand everything.
2. Never reveal anything private to strangers.
As I have mentioned earlier, you never know that it could be a criminal that you are enjoying a video call with. The migration of web criminals can extend to this new feature... starting off with being nice and sweet and eventually gathering information from you... information that can be disastrous. Despite the excitement and thrill of talking to strangers, fraud problems and identity theft might soon bite your ass.
3. Be appropriately dressed when opening a video call even to friends.
Your friends just might video-call you and post an inappropriate photo or embarrassing photo of you. I tested this with my second friend. She came out and I got to capture a screenshot of her that I know wasn't to her approval. I mean, being caught off-guarded can be a disaster. We all don't want such. So, just to warn her, I shared it to her privately and so, she understood what might happen. Just be dressed appropriately and look nice.
There are of course, a lot more as we go on living in an era of internet wonders, but I can only think of these for now....what I see that will pose imminent dangers to us. Try to keep your private life safe. Enjoy social networking! Enjoy this cool feature but... be safe as always!
Sometimes in our lives, we get to realize that there are things in this world that money can't buy but we tend to realize them too late that we never know what we have till we lost them. Sometimes too, we need to put some break fluid in what we say... we give consideration and respect to make people happy which will make us eventually happy.
I speak of burnouts here especially when familiarity starts to breed contempt. We may have grown to be good people (although others don't see that sometimes) yet, we have to understand other people's needs to have their own lives too.... to have some break free time from helping us, protecting us and caring for us and our interests in life.
Somewhere along the way, there are people who don't complain because they are grateful to us to what we have done for them but when we say things we thought are not hurtful (like saying a joke) and they get hurt, they harbor ill-feelings inside waiting to explode when one is suffering from a burnout.
Burnout... Google it. Interest to earn money, loyalty, dedication will be diminished for people suffering from it. Having some time for their own lives, respect for their privacy, rest from work boundaries will matter more to these people as means to cope for emotional exhaustion.
How to prevent burnouts? Read "Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Coping Strategies".
City life tears me apart once in awhile. I get burned out and I seek... solitude.
There are times when I seclude or isolate myself completely from the world. Failed relationships, bad choices, stress, being so far away from home, circumstances at work, health problems greatly contribute to this and I find myself seeking refuge in nature.
I felt like needing the mental and physical seclusion. Solitude... comes to mind for me to think or rest without being disturbed. Being isolated from distractions make it easier for me to concentrate, reflect, meditate and contemplate about my life. I seek to be alone and although solitude is entirely different from loneliness, solitude for me in this sense, is positive.
Privacy... is a luxury and every time I get the chance to get away from all and be close to nature, is a grand vacation enough. Solitude heals me and so it will with you.
Thanks, Vincent Garrucho and Mark Longos for the photos.
Location: Port St. Michel, Batangas, Philippines
