Richard Juan was invited to be a speaker at the New York Times Asia-Pacific Writing Competition Awards Ceremony in Hong Kong recently. The former Pinoy Big Brother 737 housemate spoke about how digital disruption and social media changed the world and how it changed his life.

In his speech, Richard shared how his entertainment career started when he was still in college and how social media paved the way for him to bag numerous opportunities in show business. He shared that he gained a fan base not only in the Philippines but also in different parts of Asia because of social media. "What really fascinated me was the fact that I was also building an audience outside of the Philippines," he said.

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A post shared by 范鴻志 Richard Juan 홍지 (@richardjuan) on May 26, 2019 at 8:02am PDT

But more than anything, Richard said that he wants to inspire the youth through the digital platforms that he uses as an artist. During his speech, he also shared important life lessons that he wants to impart to the youth.

"Life is not a popularity contest, never is, never was and never will be. It's not about the number of followers, the number of likes, the number of comments that you get. It's about what you stand for, what you believe in... It's all about the substance, the credibility, the beliefs, the vision and the heart," he stated.