Social Media: A Temporal Pause to a Ticking Time Bomb in Nigeria
It is not about a thing, it is about the usage of a thing; just like it is popularly said, "The gun does not kill a man, but man kills a man.
It is true that the social media has dealt a very serious blow 😮💨 to the world, with its adverse effect in the rate at which it disseminates or is being used in disseminating immoral and erroneous teachings. Almost everything in life has its pros and cons, that is the why we talk about ethics in the use of things and in all disciplines.
But in the midst of all these, we won't neglect the huge benefit and blessing the social media has been to the world, especially in Nigeria.
One thing natural amongst all is the desire to satisfy needs, desires, and wants; and any inability to do so arouses different reactions. Sometimes these reactions might affect just the person, but most times it results into the brooding of vampires who go about terrorising the society. Some resort to suicide, begging, more hustling, while most resort to armed robbery, casual stealing, political thugs, political assassins, and all sort of fraudulent acts.
Not even the Gospel finds it easy to satisfy a man who can hardly afford a living.
Let's pause for awhile and imagine how a corrupt and lawless place filled with young men and women who can barely earn a living would look like, especially when the demand is so....high and there is no means to satisfy them. It is very frustrating.
First, because it is lawless, stealing and all sorts of crime becomes so free in the society, nobody checkmates the other. Secondly, because it is a corrupt place, all kinds of unimaginable crimes are invented and carried out because nothing is working.
The social media has come to be one of the major means of satisfying these desires, wants, needs, and demands as mentioned earlier. It is legit, easy, convenient, seamless, comfortable, affordable, cuts across both the learned and the unlearned, literate and illiterate, and recently not even limited to a particular age.
Asides being lucrative, it has come to be a source of entertainment and laughter which assuages to some extent worrying which leads to frustration, depression and most times to suicide.
Another benefit of the social media is its extended benefits to those who sell phones and other gadgets, and also the promotion of a people's talent, style, fashion with just a tap, making it an agent of economic growth. Business have been seen to thrive because of social media. Tourism boom from people who became aware of a people's talent and chose to come around.
A lot of persons who never dreamt of leaving the shores of their country has been given opportunities to leave and are now celebrated and their talents valued for what its worth. People have met good friends through social media, who changed their life story financially and otherwise.
And so, the benefits from the use of social media is like that soothing breeze that is calming the already tensed atmosphere. It is like that saviour that has diverted the people's attention from the monster of corruption and lawlessness steering them to the face. But I fear that this might not hold-on for long. Because whenever that saviour goes, the people would then behold the monster again.
Finally, the social media is really a saviour in Nigeria when used for the right purpose.