To be or not to be Pabebe?

Pabebe is now a part of this generation’s zeitgeist.

Zeigeist is a German word for time-spirit. It is the taste, mood and outlook of a generation during a particular period in history. By the looks of it, pabebe is now part of this realm especially among the youth. The rise of pabebe to lexical prominence could be attributed to young people amplified by the power of social media.

There has yet to be a general consensus on the precise meaning of pabebe. Picking up clues based on its usage in online and offline conversations, pabebe is a trait characterized by trying to be cute or sweet at times to the point of being irritating. In certain contexts, it also made to mean indecisive or to play coy. It is commonly used as a derogatory term often with the undertone of being immature, foolish and even stupid.

In some ways, pabebe is also an identity. It could be considered as such because some young people actually embrace it. They claim, own and defend being pabebe for reasons that would be interesting to probe and explain why amidst the negative impression and feedback, they upload videos online whether for fun or out of boredom to display and assert this kind of assumed identity.

Young people are being chastised for being pabebe.

The so-called Pabebe Girls are bullied online and called many names. Young people are again at the receiving end of hasty and sweeping generalizations as some people are quick to jump to conclusions. Again, judgments are made based on a few minutes of online material, criticizing that the “youth have nothing better to do with their time”. And we hear the usual question “what is happening to the youth today?” with the usual tone of condescension and condemnation.

At the height of this online sensation, many people including a famous media personality who even released a song on this subject called on the youth to not be pabebe and instead focus on their studies as if being pabebe is the exemplification of all the perils of being young. But who said one cannot be pabebe and do well in school at the same time? Apparently, one of the now famous Pabebe Girls is taking her studies very seriously because she wants to be a scholar in college. On top of this, she is also an athlete, a member of the school’s track and field team.

Pabebe or not, society needs to be less critical of the youth and their cultural expressions. There ought to be more discernment and less judgment in appreciating the current generation. The pabebe today could be the next great athlete or dedicated educator in the future. Allow them the freedom to be pabebe while at the same time challenging and inspiring the youth to pursue bigger things.

We have yet to see if pabebe is here to stay, if it will leave an indelible mark in contemporary culture like jologs two decades ago or will it just be a fleeting fad. One thing is for sure, it has an inherent power because it captured the attention of a generation.

In the midst of all these, the question remains, to be or not to be pabebe?