MANILA, Philippines ? When Facebook changed its format a couple of months ago, a feature users initially quibbled about was the increased prominence of Facebook quizzes and their results published on the news feed. At first, they were a fun ? and occasionally bizarre ? way to pass the time, as people answered quizzes such as ?What periodic element are you?? and ?Which zodiac sign are you most compatible with??

Then the quizzes started getting ridiculous, although they offered a laugh or two at best. People on my friend list started answering questions that would help them find out which Pussycat Doll they were most like, or which LOLcat represented them best. Although they cluttered my news feed, I didn?t mind the quizzes ? until results for the ?Which Hayden K Scandal Video Are You?? quiz started pouring in.

The quiz?s tagline said, ?Are you the sweet lover, the hot Brazilian, the actress or the cash cow? Take this quiz and find out!?

A series of questions, written in a style perhaps intended to be funny, distinctly described the four women in the Hayden Kho sex videos.

The first question in the quiz: ?If I were to star in my own TV series, I would?? The answer choices?

a.) Dammit! I?m a doctor, not an actor!
b.) Be in a prime-time action drama (preferably wearing sexy outfits).
c.) Be in a Filipino remake of a Mexican telenovela.
d.) Screw it! I want to be in a corned beef commercial!

The list of questions contained hints on the different videos (example: ?What is your motto?? Answer: ?Dance with life?s balls?). Published results revealed that the people who took it on my friend list like the Maricar Reyes video. The text proclaimed, ?You?re into a mutually beneficial relationships [sic]. You love to give as well as recieve [sic]. You keep your wild side hidden from your adoring public. The whole world thinks you?re sweet. Hayden would beg to differ!?

Flippant reactions

The Hayden Kho quiz, like all other quizzes on Facebook, was obviously created to make light of the situation many felt had been blown to ridiculous proportions by the likes of Bong Revilla (who, in a rare moment of loquaciousness, gave a privilege speech entitled ?A Doctor?s Perversity? before the Senate). It was just a silly quiz, but its popularity reflected the sentiments of a largely flippant public.

A friend asked her friends on Facebook and Twitter, ?Reply if you haven?t seen any Hayden Kho video until now. And if you don?t want to watch any video at all. Be honest!? She later modified the question to, ?Reply if you have seen any Hayden Kho video, and your first thought while watching it. Go!?

Someone replied, ?Forget about Katrina Halili. Maricar?s my girl! She isn?t moaning. She isn?t screaming. She?s growling, man! GROWLING! Rrr? Hahahaha!?
People seemed sympathetic with women who appeared on the celebrity doctor?s sex videos, but it didn?t stop them from forwarding jokes about these women, or making (and taking) Facebook quizzes.

Violated women

Entertainment magazine editor Jo-Ann Maglipon spoke out against the videos in the Philippine Entertainment Portal website ? ?[If we respect women], we wouldn?t be standing around our desks and calling everyone to come and watch, like it was just another television show, like it was entertainment, like no real lives were involved. We wouldn?t be texting friends to provide the links to these sites. And we wouldn?t be snickering and guffawing, while slobbering all over the place with lewd jokes.?

Maglipon said, ?With every second these videos are viewed, a human being is violated, and that, with each violation, the entire human race is diminished just that little bit more.?

It?s easy to rage against Kho for taking the videos and to blame his former friends for leaking the sex tapes. But everything done afterward, such as passing on links, buying DVDs or creating quizzes, is entirely the responsibility of the person who helped violate the women once more by taking advantage of the situation. For what? To alleviate their boredom.

Not to make a mountain of a molehill, but taking the ?Hayden K Scandal Video? quiz on Facebook is tantamount to abusing not just Halili, but all the women involved: one, for making light of the horrible situation, and two, for giving them names they do not deserve (like cash cow).

While social networking and its frills are mostly fun, think before you click on the Hayden Kho quiz; a few laughs just aren?t worth the price of someone else?s dignity.

E-mail the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com