THIS is perhaps the reason why Filipinos are happy and resilient people despite all the challenges that they face: they continue to believe in love and happily ever after, in “forever,” as the Pinoy teleseryes call it.
The question of whether there is “forever” has in fact been debated on in different teleserye and movie plots, and have been much talked about in social media platform.
This same question, among others, has been the subject of the study by the Social Weather Service (SWS). The results of which validate what we all already know about our kababayans: we are hopelessly romantic!
Here are the highlights of the SWS study conducted in December 2015:
“How much do you believe or not believe in “forever”?” (Gaano po kayo naniniwala o hindi naniniwala sa magpakailanman o “forever”?) was asked and 73 percent answered in the affirmative.
Half of those who participated in the study strongly believe it (lubos na naniniwala), 23 percent somewhat believe it (medyo naniniwala), 11 percent are undecided (hindi tiyak kung naniniwala o hindi), 5 percent somewhat do not believe it (medyo hindi naniniwala), and 11 percent strongly do not believe it (lubos na hindi naniniwala).
Very strong net belief in “forever” among married couples
I do not know if this is a surprise or not considering the fact that once couples get married, it is then that they realize that love is hard work and entails a lot of responsibility. They also discover their spouses’ flaws and weaknesses after the honeymoon period is over.
And yet, the SWS survey says belief in “forever” is stronger among marrieds than those with live-in partners and singles. Married people have a very strong +67 net belief in “forever”, one grade above the strong +46 among those with live-in partners and strong +36 among singles.
The next finding deeper explains that those who truly believe in “forever” are those married people who have indeed gone through the peaks and valleys of life and have remained to be in love and together. The SWS survey reveals the net belief in “forever” was very strong among both men and women, at +59 and +56, respectively.
Both married men and women have very strong +67 net belief in “forever”.
SWS further says: Men with live-in partners have very strong +56 net belief in “forever”, one grade higher compared to the strong +37 among women with live-in partners.
Net belief in “forever” was strong among both single women and single men, at +39 and +32, respectively.
Regardless of sex, net belief in “forever” was very strong in all age groups, except among ages 18-24 or the youth, where it was a strong +45 among men and a strong +46 among women.
The next revelation applies to many kababayans who may have left their heart in the Philippines or in any other part of the world. According to the SWS survey, net belief in “forever” is a very strong +72 (82 percent believe, 10 percent not believe) among those who believe in long distance relationship, one grade higher than the strong +44 (54 percent believe, 10 percent not believe) among those undecided about long distance relationship, and two grades higher than the moderate +17 (54 percent believe, 37 percent not believe) among those who do not believe in long distance relationship.
Perhaps the underlying lesson is this: We have to believe in forever so that the mind, heart, body and soul will follow accordingly and make “forever” manifest in our lives, come what may. This is what faith in love and in each other is all about.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
