Buena Bernal, a Journalism student at the University of Santo Thomas, takes on the question, so relevant to her generation, of whether online engagement is real engagement.  Her answer is probably not – but it could be:

Is liking a Facebook page on agrarian reform tantamount to joining advocates in their nationwide rally? Is tweeting about the forests in Palawan going to change the value system of our country’s illegal loggers? Is a concerned netizen equal to a concerned citizen?

I’m quite sure it isn’t yet, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be. It is up to us to harness technology so that its utility might be for the better and so that the net gain utility-wise makes up for the limitations of the medium. The challenge is to constantly innovate and pursue ways by which we can use social media to advocate for reform and mobilize communities.

Read her suggestions here.