Are You Afraid of Death?
Human beings have mixed emotions about the concept of death. Some are scared and some are not. It’s a natural human response to the prevailing perception of people on how scary death is and what happens in the afterlife, making them have their perceived notion based on other people’s opinions. At times, they also fear the unknown since no one ever saw what goes beyond life which made them question and fear death.
Together with this, many people share their own notions about what death is. On the Internet, it indicates that death can simply mean the end of life or the common metaphor “crossing over the other side”, but as we all know there is no exact definition of death. With this, our team interviewed different individuals to describe what death is from their viewpoint.
What is Death?
FILIPINO CULTURE
However, we can’t deny that in some cultures, talking about death in a normal conversation is considered to be taboo (Mercurio, 2021). In the Philippines, Filipinos seem to avoid the discussion about death and others find it difficult to even mention the word. Instead, they refer to it as “taken by God Almighty”, tegi (gay lingo for dead), and other terms (Tampos-Villadolid and Santos, 2019).
Despite this, there are still people who are comfortable talking about this subject. In the discussion, most of them when they were asked the question “Are you comfortable talking about death in casual chitchat?”, revealed that yes, they are at ease talking about this topic, particularly to their friends. Those individuals who stated they explored this subject with their friends are Gen Z and according to them, the manner of conversation is usually through jokes.
STORIES & STATEMENTS
On the other hand, when it comes to their family, Win (20) revealed that she feels awkward discussing this in front of their relatives because she comes from a Chinese family, and according to her, her family has this belief that “if you talk more about it, the more you will manifest it to find you”.
Why Do Filipinos Avoid Talking About Death?
The avoidance of Filipinos about the topic of death in conversations and in day-to-day lives is deeply rooted in our culture and religion.
​
Among the people interviewed, the most common reason they gave about why Filipinos avoid talking about death is because of the family-oriented culture we have.
Filipinos are known for having strong family bonds, and even in family gatherings like birthdays, reunions, fiesta holidays, and other events, we invite the whole family to celebrate together. It allows families to create memories and stronger ties. As we experience every part of our lives with them, there is also fear forming in our minds that one day we won’t be able to be with our loved ones, just like what Eunice (21) shared, and fear of what is unknown after death.
Living in a religious and Catholic-dominated country like the Philippines, death is associated with the afterlife, it is often what Filipinos worry about, the destination after we die, heaven or hell. In a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) in 2018, it shows that 94% believe in heaven, and 83% in hell. But despite having high percentages of believing in the afterlife, talking about death is still seen in a negative light. There are even beliefs that when you talk about death, it might come true to you (Manila Bulletin, 2020), making death, especially in conservative and religious families, avoided.
