Social media use and the debased citizens of the digital space

In the past, when cell phones were non-existent, it would take a long while for two persons separated by a long distance to exchange messages with each other. At that time, letter-writing, which was the traditional mode of communication, was the in-thing. And people owned post office boxes through which they received letters.

But the invention of the cell phone and internet technology, which led to the creation of social media, revolutionised our modes of communication. Now, marriage mates who live in different countries of the world can keep track of each other’s activities via phone calls, WhatsApp video calls, and others. And an organisation whose members are living in different countries can hold online meetings via Google Meet and Zoom to discuss matters that affect them. The invention of the cell phone and the advent of the internet and social media have shrunk our world to a global village.

Nowadays, happenings in Nigeria can be relayed to citizens of other countries in real time via social media platforms. For example, when an act of nature has caused fatalities in Nigeria, that tragic event will be conveyed to other people of the world via media outlets and social media platforms. The publicising of that tragic event through media outlets and social media will elicit positive reactions from leaders of other countries.

Besides that, social media is a tool for electioneering. During periodic elections in various countries of the world, which are preceded by electioneering, the social media platforms are used to woo the electorate. They have become effective platforms for electioneering, substituting some traditional methods of carrying out election campaigns. Gone are the days when an election candidate must mount the podium to make campaign disquisitions and promises.

More so, social media can be used for the mass mobilisation of people to fight for a cause. In the past, the change of governments that occurred in the Arab world, which was called the Arab Spring, was made possible through the people’s use of social media. For example, Tunisians were mobilised via social media platforms to oust the government of Ben Ali. His government’s maltreatment of a fruit seller, which made him commit self-immolation, set the tone for Ben Ali’s ouster from office. So the wind of change that started in Tunisia swept through Egypt and Libya, causing the dethronement of their national leaders. Indisputably, social media played a great role in making the Arab spring a success.

However, the same social media, which was deployed to change dictatorial governments in some North African countries, is being put to a bad use now. A great number of content creators who are paid for their skits have gone overboard in their creation of content so as to make money. And most of their works have the potentialities of upturning our moral order. In fact, they erode the cultural practices and moral values which we hold dear.

Today, as one navigates social media, touring Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and others, one’s eyes are assaulted with video images of men and women who are in the altogether. Those contents/videos, which are uploaded online for our visual consumption, are morally reprehensible. They corrupt the good morals of impressionable young people and offend the visual and moral sensibilities of morally upright people, too.

So it seems that the social media landscape is an unregulated sphere where moral derelicts, who are questing for money, strut their erotic stuff. But what they are doing is affecting the moral health of our society, negatively. Their valorisation of fornication and adultery has impacted many marriages negatively. As a result, some of the ladies who imbibed bad moral values via social media had broken up with their hubbies. And others had contracted deadly sexually transmitted diseases.

But it is not all content creators that do put social media to a bad use. There are morally upright citizens of the digital space who produce skits and videos which are revolutionary in nature. And we have content creators whose intellectual outputs are beneficial for us. For example, some post-primary school students had passed SSCE and UTME English language examinations with flying colours by following, religiously, online English language teachers.

Again, many skit-makers/content creators who ply the social media highway make videos that satirically hold up our bad cultural practices and the doings of our political leaders for scrutiny. Their works are mirrors in which we see our idiosyncratic behaviours, foibles, strengths, and weaknesses. They are agents of change in our society, as their videos (works) lay bare our true natures and call for change regarding our systems of doing things.

Chiedu Uche Okoye: Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State. Okoye is a poet.

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