Atom Araullo talks adulting

MANILA, Philippines — Atom Araullo will host one of GMA Network’s three, new online shows targeting millennials starting Jan. 1, 2018. Adulting with Atom Araullo will offer netizens a peek into his everyday life, where he deals with such challenges as being on his own, managing his budget, plus talk on dating and relationships.

Adulting, as the Urban Dictionary defines it, is a favorite term by millennials (those who were born in the early ‘80s to mid-‘90s) when referring to behavior and activities expected of responsible grown-ups or “fully-developed individuals.”

The 35-year-old broadcast journalist said, “At my age, it’s kind of late for me to talk about adulting. I should have been a full-fledged adult and I am. But I think adulting never stops. You move from one challenge to another. First is finding a job, making do with a budget, moving up the professional ladder, then you move into a new place, you get into a relationship, you get married, you have kids… it never ends. And I’m at that stage where all of these issues are something I have to tackle also.”

“I think that’s the best part. I’m not coming in here as an expert most certainly. Like the rest of the people we hope will watch the program, I’m trying to figure things out,” he added.

For one, Atom has recently taken the “very adult” move of living on his own. “I am very close to my family and have been living with my folks forever, since I was a kid, same house. I live pretty near from where I work so there was no reason for me to move out.

“But recently, I decided to move out. For one, because of the horrendous traffic in Metro Manila. But No. 2, to see if I could learn something about myself by doing things on my own.”

It’s been a tough learning curve for Atom, especially because he’s starting from scratch. “I don’t know what you need in a house like ano ba yung magandang walis tambo, or how to do the laundry. I know the basics (of cooking), I know how to boil water (laughs), but you learn everything, how to save electricity, all of those things, and if you think about it, this is the hidden part of our lives. You always focus on what you should do for (career-related) work but domestic work is something we don’t really think about, but it matters, right? I hope that in this journey of mine, we could also involve other people.”

Apart from financial literacy and independence, Adulting topics also include dating, relationships and even sex. “Sure, sex and relationships are a big part of the adult life, but it’s important for young people to talk about the positives and the negatives, the good side and the bad side, the risks they might be getting when they get into very intimate relationships. We don’t have the answers so the best part about being in a digital platform is that the feedback mechanism is much quicker. We encourage people who watch the program to leave their comments, and these comments also guide our program on how to tackle other issues.”

He believes the issue of sex is very timely and relevant. “And I think that in a country like the Philippines — this is just my personal opinion — we don’t talk about it enough. It’s such a taboo subject. I think that leads to bigger problems down the line. So, if you’re able to talk about it openly, professionally, without malice, we hope to become part of that conversation.”

Atom along with Gabbi Garcia and Joseph Morong will banner three online exclusive shows on GMA Network starting Jan. 1, 2018

Atom clarified though that while this show talks about his personal experiences, this is not to claim that he knows any better than the millennial generation or that his experiences best illustrate adulting. 

He said, “Some people live with their folks until they have families. And that’s not necessarily wrong. I mean in some settings, that’s even a better arrangement especially if you live in the province, you have like a compound, you do things together. There’s no right or wrong answer. That’s why we’re doing this show... In my case, this is my experience, it’s not necessarily the experience of others, but we all learn from each other’s experiences. As much as I try to teach other people about my experiences, I’m also learning from theirs.

“Some millennials move out much sooner than I did, at age 21 or 24. Some have moved out since high school since nakatira sa province so nag-do-dorm. It’s actually embarrassing that I’m now just trying to figure things out, parang ‘Hello Atom, ngayon mo lang ba natutunan yan? Ilang taon ka na ba?’ So, I can say a lot of millennials have things figured out for them. It’s not a generational thing for me.”   

He continued, “I remember how it’s like to be young and… trying to find your place in the world. I can tell you that it’s not much different from how my parents experienced it back then. We are all a product of our times. I think that adulting, even if you don’t confront it, it will come. You have no choice. You can say that millennials don’t really talk about it, but then you can’t do anything about it because you will eventually grow old.” 

Apart from Adulting with Atom Araullo, the two other online programs are Fact or Fake with Joseph Morong on how to spot fake news amidst the exponential rise of news sources online and #Goals with Gabbi Garcia on style, beauty, makeup and travel. By coming up with these shows, the network is clearly recognizing the possibilities afforded by the digital platform as well as the need to reach out and grow its online audience.

Being a journalist who happens to socmed-savvy as well, Atom knows for sure how people are increasingly turning to the so-called new media such as blogs, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for news and information.

“I think a news organization like GMA should be ready to face those challenges and in fact, to be a leader in that kind of front. It is different because the (online) medium is a lot more flexible. For one, the running time is set to 30 to 45 minutes to one hour. You can use multi-media or the highly interactive nature of the digital platform. (As a host) you can be more casual, be more yourself... We can sort of let our hair down, in a way.

“Adulting isn’t like hard-hitting, world-shattering topic, right? But it can be a difficult process. We tend to underestimate these kinds of challenges in our lives. I can already imagine that talking of fact or fake news is also part of adulting — how to be responsible netizens and how to set #goals and follow through those #goals.” 

Atom added that while he feels very privileged to host such a show, he’s also feeling the pressure of coming up with an engaging program in the ever-evolving digital age. “It’s a battlefield out there. There’s a lot of digital content not only from networks but also from smaller producers. Even somebody with a webcam at home can produce a digital show. We have to make sure that we put out something that can contribute to the sum total of human knowledge and not just become white noise that sometimes these digital shows tend to be. They don’t have a clear focus. So, we are learning this as we go. We hope that this will be the start of something bigger for GMA.”

Catch the GMA ONE Online Exclusives on GMA’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/gmanetwork) beginning Jan. 1, 2018. New episodes will be uploaded every Monday at 5 p.m.