A hot topic in showbiz is the panggagaya of Nadine Lustre allegedly of Ericka Villongco's Instagram feed.
Nadine is the present girlfriend of James Reid, whose ex is Ericka.
Some netizens claimed the two women have several things in common aside from James.
They love bikinis!
Ericka's post on August 29, 2017
Nadine's post on November 28, 2017
Same sexy mirror selfies
The first time Ericka posted a picture of her reflection clad in a two-piece swimsuit was on November 11, 2017.
Nadine's was posted on June 6, 2018.
Battle of the butts?
This post of Ericka was dated June 4, 2017.
Nadine's was dated February 15, 2018.
They seem to like lying-down poses a lot.
Here are samplers.
Ericka's post was dated January 24, 2015.
This was taken in November 2016.
Nadine's post on December 1, 2016.
This was her January 29, 2017 post.
They have no qualms posing in their sexy workout outfits.
Ericka's post on July 16, 2016
A month later...
Nadine's post was dated February 23, 2018.
This was in September 2018.
They seem to like taking photos of similar subjects...
...such as their manicured nails...
Nadine's earliest posts were dated May 10, 2014.
and September 14, 2014.
Ericka's first nail post was dated February 22, 2015.
This was posted on August 8, 2016.
...and roses.
Ericka's post on August 4, 2016
But Nadine's pink roses were put out on April 26, 2016.
The thing is, Nadine has been posting roses since 2014 because "flowers make me happy."
These chandeliers!
Ericka's post on August 11, 2016
Another photo was uploaded on March 2, 2018.
But Nadine's first post featuring a chandelier was on April 5, 2015.
This was taken on September 1, 2018.
How about this photo of tall coconut trees taken by Nadine in Los Angeles, California?
It was posted on June 2, 2018.
Ericka posted a similar photo on February 18, 2018.
But Nadine has been posting photos of coconut trees since May 2015.
The point here is, copying is rampant on Instagram.
But is it really copying?
The debate whether one is nanggagaya or ginagaya is simply moot.
For instance, Jessy Mendiola's posts back in August 2017 were observed to be copycatting those of Angel Locsin.
To name a few of the similarities: shorter hairdo, ice cream, and swim posts.
Currently, only the last on the list can be found on the actresses' feeds.
Jessy deleted the two other posts. She argued, "Di ko naman talaga nakikita yun.
"Naka-block ako sa kanya, naka-block din siya sa akin...
"No sense at all. I think people lang talaga na talagang nagsasabong lang."
Truly, because come to think of it, a lot of people do the same—post photos of ice cream cones or their latest hairstyle.
It just so happens Jessy and Angel have high showbiz profiles and every little thing they do is followed by their fans, most especially their love life.
Everyone knows Jessy is the current flame of Luis Manzano, who happens to be an ex of Angel.
Marian Rivera and Heart Evangelista, collectors of luxury fashion items, had also been also accused of copying each other.
As soon as one of them would post a photo of her Hermes bag or Dolce & Gabbana dress, the other appeared to follow suit.
Deliberate or coincidence? Setting aside the perceived rivalry among celebrities, Instagram apparently has made a lot of us competitive in our posts.
Remember when celebrities went crazy over Dolce & Gabbana dresses? It reached the point when an emoji response from Stefano Gabbana, the Italian brand's other half, became the badge of honor among the fashionista.
And remember when most beauty junkies had lips that looked like Kylie Jenner's?
When "Instagrammable" became the key word for the eatables on our dining table and those served to us?
When we started taking pictures before eating?
Because this is what we do when we see something interesting? We share, we copy.
We want to make it viral and...contagious!
Indeed, panggagaya is the culture Instagram cultivates.
And what has happened is that it has gone beyond being a form of flattery.
It has become a gauge of power and influence.
And in the way of copycats, we plead guilty of trying to become like these influencers and trendsetters.
So, what's the point of asking, "Who's nanggagaya and ginagaya?" when everyone is practically gaya-gaya puto-maya?