How do you define a generation?
If you’re an active Facebook user, chances are you’ve stumbled on the group page called “Classic Bai to the Titos and Titas of Cebu” which captures the essence of a generation, sharing a collective thought about common experiences, defined by objects, television shows, celebrities, games, food and many more.
It is astounding that some members of the group do not know each other personally buttheir degree of connectivity is strong.
When “Classic Bai to the Titos and Titas of Cebu” was introduced on Facebook two weeks ago, the response of the so-called titos and titas from the Cebu was overwhelming.
The closed group now has 54,000 members and counting.
So why do members of the group go gaga over the posts, take time to indulge in a little nostalgia?
According to businessman JP Chiongbian, the man behind Titos and Titas of Cebu, the group is an outlet to put all those “throwback” moments forward, to preserve and inspire other generations by reliving and sharing memories with their friends.
“We all go about our day, may it be work or taking care of their children; we want the group to be an outlet of momentary escape through social media,” said Chiongbian.
The concept was born when Chongbian and his friend Mark Tanseco found themselves talking about their memorable growing up years.
“Mark and I were out one night and were talking about the past and decided to create an FB page for our generation naming it ‘Classics’,” said Chiongbian.
“Tanseco created the one in Manila (Classic Pare Titos and Titas of Manila) while I created the one in Cebu,” Chiongbain added.
Chiongbian also created the Facebook food page “Lets Eat Bai” while Tanseco created the Manila counterpart “Lets Eat Pare.”
Posts from the group members vary, ranging from celebrities, icons, or music of yesteryears, toys and games, including gadgets or even expressions that were the inthing back in the day.
However, some things needed to be filtered and rules had to be set.
Members of the group can post anything that relates to the year ‘60s to the ‘90s; however, posts should contain zero insults or degrading any gender or religion.
“Posting of illegal substance or sexual items are also not allowed,” he said.
Chiongbian said that for members who want to post a memory, they should check first if a member has already posted a similar one to avoid repetition.
“The page is not a classified ad so no posting of ads/advertorials. Politics or mention of political parties are a no-no too,” added Chiongbian.
Those who do not belong to 60s to 90s “generation” are still welcome to join.
“The objective of the group is also to let the new generation learn from ours,” Chiongbian said.
Aside from the numbers and the throwbacks, what is fascinating about this group is the fact that often the posts have been crowdsourcing, immediately getting giddy and funny reactions from its members.
A post from Marcelino Ugarte, asking if the titos and titas could still remember their five-digit landline numbers, received the most reactions.
The result of Ugarte’s question is a treasure trove of nostalgia, gaining 2,000 comments and 3,400 likes.
And as the group grows in number, Chiongbian felt that the responsibilities of the administrator has also grown.
“Our first weeksary was on November 24. What we are doing now is a very big responsibility—so others can go through their day knowing that there is a group makes their day a bit better,” Chiongbian said.
In fact, because the numbers have been astounding, the titos and titas are now tryingto organize an old-school EB (“eyeball”) next year so that members can interact with each other outside the online world.
Who can say that the “Titos and Titas of Cebu” will eventually peter out or that members will run out of old clips to post?
Beyond old photos of Ricky Martin, the cast of Dawson’s Creek or screenshots of Contra on the original Nintendo
Family Computer, the essence of this Facebook group can be summed up in two words: Good vibes.
