With the continuous evolution of social media apps and sites today, we have arrived at a point where digital technology is also advancing how we experience the world. Social media, in general, has become an integral part of our everyday life—changing the way we think, speak, and even interact with other people online. Needless to say, social media has altered the way people around the world live and we have no choice but to embrace it.
TikTok, the leading destination for short-form mobile video, is just one of the many creative social platforms these days that lets users to freely showcase and share their skills with everyone through various online challenges and events. Recently, the video-sharing app finally announced the winners of All-Star SEA 2019, a region-wide talent competition that aims to “discover and incubate new creators in Southeast Asia.” With a record-breaking number of 302,000 submissions, Yanyan de Jesus, a proud Filipino Content Creator, emerged as “Grand Champion” in the Talent Category.
In an interview with InqPOP!, de Jesus mentioned that he just did his Talent entry for fun and wasn’t really expecting anything in return, “Ang expectation ko ay hindi ako mananalo kasi across Asia ‘to eh. At that time, I was unsure kasi ‘yung mga tao sobrang competitive nila. Nanliliit ako sa sarili ko (I was expecting that I wouldn’t make it because it’s across Asia. At that time, I was really unsure because they were all so competitive. I felt so small.)”
But for de Jesus, this online event is not just about the prize money or fame—it’s all about being happy and creative with every content he makes. “The most important thing is your creativity. Be free when it comes to your ideas, let it all out. Share what you have, share what you’ve got. Share what you really want,” De Jesus said.
Although he doesn’t have any plans with the prize money yet, de Jesus shared with us that right now, his priority is his fans. As a way of expressing his gratitude, he plans to buy his fans gifts that will definitely be useful to them.
A platform where content creators can express themselves creatively, TikTok continues to empower more people to showcase and celebrate their unique talent. Watch de Jesus’s full interview on the official Facebook page of INQUIRER.net.
Download TikTok (available on iOS and Android) and catch @yanyandejesus1 dance his heart out to the viral dance challenges. INQUIRER.net BrandRoom/TV