Page 98 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 13
P. 98

MY AFRIKA
          Re- Education



                                                                                What really is social about social
                                                                                media?
                                                                                I think my ever first time to sign
                                                                                up on Facebook was in 2008 or
                                                                                thereabout. And over the years
                                                                                after that first signup, I have had to
                                                                                delete about two or three Facebook
                                                                                accounts for personal reasons.

                                                                                At first, when Facebook appeared
                                                                                on the scene, its major competitor
                                                                                was MySpace and up until now, only
                                                                                God knows what happened to that
                                                                                platform. But I think I have read
                                                                                somewhere that MySpace faded
                                                                                out simply because the creators of
                                                                                the social media ecosystem wanted
                                                                                to make room for Facebook. How
                                                                                true that is, I am not very sure. But
                                                                                if you are paying attention to the
                                                                                social media space, the competition
          SOCIAL MEDIA                                                          somehow stopped being SOCIAL
                                                                                among social media platforms has
                                                                                or RESPONSIBLE but has become


          Is It An Anti-Social Tool For Mind                                    wicked and diabolic, to the point
                                                                                where either bigger platforms buy
                                                                                out the smaller ones or they use
          Distortion And Manipulation?                                          their selfish and wicked machiner-
                                                                                ies to fade them out of business.
          Samuel Phillips                                                       Meaning that the very foundation
                                                                                of the term social media is steeped
                                                                                in some form of wickedness and
                                                                                manipulation. Anti-social media to
                     o you know that weird   because today is not really judgment
                     feeling that creeps     day, but a day to take a closer look   say the least.
                     over you or peeps       at what that feeling really is. Is the
          Dout of a door in your             feeling part of a series of planned   Back to my first question about
          mind when you expect likes and     product responses by the creators   the feelings you have when no one
          comments after posting a very well   of the ecosystem called social   responds to your posts on social
          thought out article, or a beautiful   media, more especially now that the   media platforms. Where does that
          image you took of yourself during   social media space has become a   feeling come from and why have we
          your vacation to some sweet place   tool for herding humans towards a   somehow allowed all these social
          in Afrika on any of the social media   very specific direction? Or is social   media platforms determine what
          platform especially Facebook or    media really a social space that truly   we see ourselves as and how we see
          Instagram? That feeling that makes   brings people together?          ourselves? How did we abdicate our
          you think or even believe that what                                   true identity as humans and now
          you posted did not get likes or    No one singular answer to this, since   begin to judge our very existence
          comments simply because it’s not   it’s individualistic in nature, but I   and the beauty in our lives by how
          good enough and thus, by extension,   also believe that there are instances   an algorithm treats our posts on
          you tell yourself and even believe   where we can have a generic answer   social media. The influence of the
          that YOU ARE NOT GOOD              as to whether the social media space   PRINCE OF THE POWER OF
          ENOUGH?                            really is a social tool or a tool for   THE AIR.
          I am sure you have felt it and it’s ok   manipulating minds and reality.   There are those who think the con-
                                                                                cept of spirituality as a true reality


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