By Charmie Joy Pagulong
Filipino-American vlogger Wil Dasovich has opened up about being vulnerable on social media.
“First, I kind of just want to build up something that’s, you know, just having thoughts in my head… I see a lot of people struggling with not being who they want to be (on social media). They’re patient, but it’s hard for you to understand. It takes a while to have it, who they want to be,” he said during the “Rethink Healthy Influencer Summit” in Mandaluyong City.
Wil shared that he had “accepted being lost and living lost,” adding, “And now I love being lost.”
“I’m a traveler. Whenever I travel to every country where I usually go, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I don’t research. I just meet random people and ask questions while I’m there… Because I know that it’s all gonna work out.”
According to Wil, he makes the biggest impact on people through social media when he is most vulnerable.
“I do all this stuff… And people think I’m cool, but like, ‘How do they get this? How do I change a life?’ I do it in other videos and I talk about it, like what I had to do to get to this,” he explained.
However, he admitted that he “wasn’t always strong, confident and courageous.”
“I had to train myself to go through this. I’m very human, very vulnerable. I have gone through a lot of hardships in my life, like near-death experiences.”
“And when I share these types of things — the evolutions I go through, these uncertainties — that’s what really connects with people. It makes them realize that I have achieved many little things, but I started out just like you and everyone else. There was a beginning, and the purpose of my adventure, and all these achievements, is to show that anyone can do it. It’s just a matter of starting. In everything, you just have to start.”
He also emphasized the impact of social media on mental health.
“I think it also comes down to the role that social media has played in our lives over the past half-decade, with it becoming a highlight reel. So it becomes, ‘I love to show everything. You’re doing great,’ and you want to be celebrated,” he pointed out.
“So there’s that pressure to go that way. And then it kind of strips your authenticity, to see who we really are, the struggles we’re going through. So these are some of the things I feel like… that pressure us to kind of fall into this cookie-cutter image without expressing how we really feel.”
Wil was joined by Amotti, the South Korean CrossFit athlete from “Physical: Asia” Team Korea, alongside Solenn Heussaff, Nico Bolzico, and fellow creators during the event. AIA Philippines chief executive officer (CEO) Melita Teo and MediCard CEO Julian Mengual also attended the summit.
