Why are Filipinos fascinated by 'blind items' in the news?
In early January, a blind item appeared in entertainment news suggesting the marriage of a "power couple" was on the rocks. Almost overnight, Filipino social media users turned into clumsy but passionate private investigators speculating about the couple's identity. Facebook communities, group chats, and coffee catch-ups became unofficial showbiz talk shows.
It reached a point where certain A-list celebrities found it necessary to speak up and say the rumor wasn't talking about them, prompting the guessing game to continue.
Why are Filipinos fascinated by blind items, especially those about scandals? It's human nature, apparently.
Being 'in the know'
Anthropologist Raizel Albano told PhilSTAR L!fe people enjoy knowing something the general public doesn't because that's how we are built. She said Filipinos are usually excited about blind items because of "the 'insider'/exclusivity aspect of knowing something that's generally not known to anybody else, making one feel more 'important'."
There is also a societal aspect to it. As humans, Albano said, one of our evolutionary traits is to survive tough situations by amplifying our collective negative experiences or perceptions. There is a sense of community built from sharing "insider" information.
"I believe humans share a natural affinity towards anything mysterious. What makes it different is how we express our affinity towards it," Albano told L!fe. "As naturally curious humans, we tend to get fixated on something until our curiosity gets satisfied."
She added that the enjoyment brought about by decoding blind items triggers the release of dopamine, also known as the "happy hormone," which creates feelings of pleasure and bursts of motivation. It is this ability of mystery-laden news bites that makes them interesting.
Entertainment writer Nathalie Tomada added that the guesswork involved in deciphering blind items is what makes these pieces of news particularly effective.
"It's the hulaan factor. Readers love guessing who's being talked about. And when they get it right, it feels like scoring in an exam," Tomada told L!fe. "There's a certain thrill in being 'in the know' even if feeling close lang."
While it is usually celebrities who fall victim to blind items, Iris Gonzalez, business editor of The Philippine STAR, said personalities beyond show business are also popular fodder for gossip.
"In the context of the corporate world, bizmen are hot copy because ordinary Filipinos are curious about the lives of the rich, especially the one percent," Gonzalez said of the country's elite.
"It's easier to talk about others than ourselves, [our] secrets, skeletons, etc.," she told L!fe.
Of course, this can result in some angry blind item subjects. But Gonzalez has a ready solution: "I always just keep quiet unless my reply is really needed, as in [a] court order, but thankfully, none [has been necessary]."
Controlling the narrative
Such a viable communications tool is prone to exploitation. Some media outlets, public relations agencies, social media influencers, and sometimes even the blind item subjects themselves have been known to capitalize on this Filipino subculture.
"Blind items were never meant to change the world," said Tomada. "They exist to attract readers and generate page views, clicks, conversations. Many of them are also fed by aggrieved parties or even by the people involved themselves."
To get ahead of what may potentially become a PR circus or to drum up publicity, some celebrities themselves feed the rumor mill. One celebrity sent her marriage certificate to Tomada's office to reveal her own secret marriage. Another leaked details of a huge showbiz breakup, with the blessing of one of the parties involved.
The potential virality of a blind item is established "by carefully controlling what is revealed and what is withheld, dropping just enough (libel-free) clues to spark curiosity and make the guessing game fun but never enough to confirm anything outright," said Tomada.
With the story ready, the gossip machine is ready to run. Albano laid out the usual course a blind item takes from birth to its natural death: The dopamine-triggering blind item is published with enough dangling clues and cues. Communities speculate while spreading the information. The involved parties will either provide a statement or proof of the blind item's accuracy or faults. After some time, the news fizzles out.
"It's time that eventually kills it because of the unsustainability of high dopamine levels for a long period of time among humans. We naturally lose interest in blind items," said Albano.
Are blind items ethical?
The big question is, how is this ethical? Danilo Arao, a professor of journalism, said that it is "unacceptable in journalism" to use blind items as trivia to other people or "to only serve the cruel interests of the mind."
"That's why the rule of thumb in journalism is to properly identify all sources of information," he said.
Still, some established media outlets, as well as social media influencers, continue to publish blind items. Chuck Smith, professor of pop culture and entertainment writer, gave a benchmark for those who like writing blind item stories.
"A blind item should still function the same way an actual news report should function. Whether or not you say it directly, you have to have a reliable source who will tell you about the incident. The only difference would be, you won't give key details in your report," Smith told L!fe.
Like Arao, Smith discourages the use of blind items.
"I don't like the current culture of blind items because a lot that are being published now tend[s] to reveal information that won't fly as news items," Smith said.
Then there is the issue of cruelty in the manner in which some news items, and the public's reaction to them, seem to celebrate other people's misery. All the gossip about the "power couple" whose relationship is in trouble apparently disregards the humanity of the subjects.
Besides, according to Arao, issues like the status of a celebrity couple's marriage, which do not affect the general public's daily life, should not be considered newsworthy by responsible journalists.
"Between news about oil price increases and news about who is sleeping with whom or who is dating whom... we know which is more important, and that would be news about oil price increases," Arao said.
When blind items come out, Arao is afraid that it "normalizes trivialization in the media."
So you've cracked the code and figured out who really split up. "Kumbaga sa wikang Filipino, 'Ano ngayon?'" Arao asked. "Does it affect your life? Will it result in lower prices of oil or of goods and services?"
Apart from their relevance, or lack of, Smith observed how the use of blind items encourages the public to see everything as a source of content, which is problematic.
"Why do we have to make content out of everything? Virality? Attention? But does it add value to your life?" he said.
"A good blind item is actually still news without the details," he added. "It's good if it's light and entertaining and has no consequence to the lives of the people involved. If it's scandalous, why write it?"
For these experts, being fascinated by blind items makes Filipinos only human. The only problem is when a blind item works a little too well, because then, it may awaken other human traits, including arrogance and the tendency to humiliate anyone "not part of the herd."
