Start saying ‘kaka-computer mo ’yan’

The condescending phrase kaka-computer mo ’yan, is not the life-changing apprehension of wisdom that we think it is. If anything, the line is only holding back our youth. We say that the real world is just as real as the online world, but this also means the online world is also just as real as the real world.

I used to play a computer game called League of Legends, where I met John Yamashita, a 21-yearold Filipino gamer. I knew he was among the top players in the country, so I once asked him if he earned from playing. To my surprise, the most he won in one game, which usually lasts around 30 minutes, was P500,000 from a tournament. Half a million pesos for half an hour playing a computer game. Without huge tournaments, he earned around P65,000 monthly. Kakacomputer niya ’yan, indeed.

As for his studies? “I’m doing pretty well both academically and gaming,” he said, and it’s true: he studied in a science high school and is currently studying in one of the top universities in the country (hint: a maroon university in Diliman).

Maybe playing computer games is not the evil that we think it is.

Did you know that a 9-year-old boy is the highest paid Youtuber in 2020, according to Forbes? How high is “highest paid”? $29.5 million or around P1.4 billion in a year, for a 9-year-old. His name is Ryan Kaji, and he began his Youtube career by reviewing kids’ toys when he was three years old.

An anonymous 21-year-old is among the most popular online names today. He goes by the name Dream, and he has never revealed his name nor his face, yet he is rumored to have earned at least $3 million or over P100 million in 2020 from Youtube. He is known for uploading videos of himself playing the computer game Minecraft. It seems that online careers do not have to come at the expense of privacy.

The top earning DOTA 2 player, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, has earned around $7 million or over P341 million from tournaments, according to Felix Mcgeehan. Prize pools for games such as Mobile Legends and Counter-strike: Global Offensive (CS GO) go from hundreds of thousands to millions of US dollars.

The insane earnings of the online stars listed above are not limited to foreigners, as the online scene in the Philippines is just as successful. For instance, Youtube has made multimillionaires out of young Filipino creators, such as the familiar Mimiyuuuh, Congtv, and the Mobile Legends streamer Choox TV. These are not isolated cases. Even my family driver Jhun Barallas has a monetized Youtube channel. The aforementioned John Yamashita is a regular 21-year-old student, yet he earns hundreds of thousands of pesos from playing a computer game.

Gurus often talk about how technology is the future, and it is easy to agree with them in theory. “Yes, that’s true…have you heard about A.I.? Elon Musk? Drones? Everything is automated now!” Then we go home and apprehend our own youth for spending time on their gadgets.

Technology has opened up so many new career paths that align with different passions. Youtube and Tiktok can turn practically any passion into a career—beauty, gaming, gardening, fashion, entrepreneurship, or even math tutorials, among others. Facebook videos and livestreams can be monetized. Young gamers earn by livestreaming on Twitch, writers publish on

As the saying goes, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Kaka-computer mo ‘yan does not have to be said with disappointment or disdain. It can be a statement said with pride, a grin, and a pat on the back.

Wattpad, Dreame, and Medium, while visual artists thrive on practically every social-media platform. Indeed, technology is the future.

Of course, this is not to say that traditional paths should be cast aside. The traditional careers such as law, nursing, medicine, engineering, and education are absolutely essential to society and have been around for centuries. They are not going away anytime soon. I, for one, am taking law. But it is important to realize that there are new paths available in this digital age, and they should be considered by those who guide the youth today. Some of us have skills and talents meant for this online world.

“Technology is the future.” When we accept that this statement means that there are new career paths due to technology, we place our youth a step closer to the present and the future. Careers change with the times. For instance, monks used to copy manuscripts by hand, then woodblock printing came around, followed by the letterpress, digital press, onwards, then today, publishing is done mostly online through e-books and web sites. This article is published online on a web site designed by web site designers whose careers did not exist back when monks copied manuscripts in scriptoriums. The Internet made web site design a thing. The same goes with other industries: sports now includes e-sports, teaching is done in online universities, and business can be done online, to name a few.

With this, it is not scandalous to predict that the next Pinoy Pride will come from esports. The next celebrities will be from Tiktok, Instagram, and Youtube.

The next revered authors will be published online. Wouldn’t it be great if these success stories were our own youth?

Of course, technology should not be abused. Too much is never good, especially considering the dangers of blue light, sitting too long, and losing family time. But consider: anti-blue light glasses, posture-improving sitting devices, and playing the online games as a family. Perhaps instead of apprehending our youth when they use their gadgets, we could guide and assist them so their use of technology is healthy and productive. Do they really need to get straight A’s in school if they are brimming or even overflowing with talent in gaming, programming, writing, or voice acting? As the saying goes, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Kaka-computer mo ’yan does not have to be said with disappointment or disdain. It can be a statement said with pride, a grin, and a pat on the back.