A piece written by Reno Omokri, Special Assistant to President Jonathan of Nigeria on News Media.
Social Media and the
technologies that drive it were intended to be a force for social good that
expanded the individual's reach beyond his physical proximity. However, over
the years since the emergence of the medium many of its users are beginning to
see a negative side of its use amongst young people which must be addressed
otherwise it will lead to an erosion of core societal values.
As a youth and young
adult, many of those in my age bracket learnt the art of reading people's non
verbal communications or body language by practicing whole body listening and
it helped us grow from self awareness to awareness of others and from self
management to relationship management. But today, many young adults are unable
to develop these vital skills because more of their communication are done over
social media.
Youths have learnt
the art of reading the keypads of an iPhone or blackberry device without
looking at it and can even Instant Message a friend while driving without
looking at the keypad. The non verbal language they read meanings to are
emoticons.
Psychologists have
written that a youth's social and emotional maturity derives from physical
contact and conversation he or she has with everyone he encounters in the
course of growing up. We are told that these interactions even help shape brain
development and stimulates the parts of the brain that regulates empathy and
morality. The less of these kinds of interactions they have the less their
ability to empathize.
And so, gradually,
our children and young adults are losing the art of relating and gaining the
skill of communicating. Relationships teach the growing child how to
empathize-that is to understand and share the feelings of another person. Since
one on one relationships are giving way to social communications via devices
that don't require physical proximity, many young persons are growing to be
adept at written communication skills and are missing out on other levels of communications
that help them empathize with the other person.
I never knew the
level of this problem until this year. Even though the Social Media age has led
to a massive reduction in attention span such that what happened yesterday is
old news, some people may still remember that some high profile public figures
had health scares this year.
First, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), a former military Head of State had to go on an
extended medical trip to Europe sometime in 2013. Everybody is subject to ill
health. It is part of being human. But imagine my surprise when young persons
on Social Media who were on the other side of the political divide from that to
which the General subscribes to began to celebrate his ill health and wishing
him the worst. I was appalled. I know that politics is war by other means, but
even in war you don't attack the sick. The Geneva convention expressly makes it
a war crime to attack a hospital or any place where people are being
treated.
I wondered to
myself, where is our humanity? I have never liked Muhammadu Buhari's brand of
politics, but I am able to separate him from his politics and I respect him for
the consistently loyal following he is able to command in certain parts of the
country. He is first and foremost a human being and Jesus taught us that we do
not have to like our neighbour but we do have to love them and to love a
neighbour is to wish for them what you wish for yourself.
And then in November
of 2013 President Goodluck Jonathan was slightly indisposed while attending the
Honorary International Investors Council in London and the presidency very
proactively informed Nigerians and gave them up to date information on the
president's state of health.
And this time, those
on the other political divide unleashed their arsenal. Without a shred of
sympathy for the humanity of the president, a certain website known for the
most sensational headlines went to town with obvious lies about the president.
Egged on by certain ex government officials who themselves have been recipients
of the president's empathy when they suffered recent loss, some young persons
took to social media platforms to disparage the president even wishing him the
worst.
And then some weeks
ago, the news of the proposed bill to jail those who libeled others and incited
the public on social media for seven years was at the fore front of the media.
The reaction to this proposed bill on social media was an indication that the
medium is in dire need of a moral compass.
By virtue of the position
I hold, I was the recipient of the angst of many opposition leaning young
people. They accused me and the presidency of attempting to muzzle opposition
via a bill they considered as draconian. Articles disparaging the federal
government were written within the space of a few hours of the bill coming to
light and no indecent word was spared.
But after it came to
light that the bill which they considered obnoxious was in actual fact the
brain child of an All Progressive Congress senator, Olugbenga Kaka, these same
youths switched and maintained social media silence. Their criticism ceased and
their anger was stifled. Very soon, the issue died a natural death. It became
obvious that these opposition leaning youths, egged on by those who have come
to be known as 'overlords' thought they had a potent political weapon against
the ruling party and when the issue backfired their hypocrisy was exposed. They
have no moral compass and cannot be counted upon to resist injustice no matter
who perpetrates it. Their ethics are situational and depends on who is
involved.
After watching these
scenarios unfold and countless others, it became clear to me that many young
people are clueless about how to interact with a flesh and blood human though
they are proficient in the art of communicating with a digital person they
cannot physically see, feel and touch.
In the military,
soldiers are taught how to dehumanize the enemy so that they can fight them.
They are taught not to see them as human, but to see them as the enemy, the
villain, the reason you are in the trench rather than at home with friends and
family. It is this dehumanization that gives many a soldier the Dutch courage
to do to opposing soldiers what they would never have thought themselves
capable of doing.
I think that Social
Media, especially in the hands of unscrupulous politicians has succeeded in
dehumanizing public figures to many of our youths so that they see those on a
political divide other than the one they support in perhaps the same way as
they see a target in a video game such as Mortal Combat.
Why else would some
young persons join an obviously bitter man in mocking a man who is praying to
his God or erupt in choreographed celebration over the news that a governor has
been involved in a car crash?
So, what is the
solution to this loss of empathy and a moral compass that is festering amongst
our youth on Social Media?
I think it is time
for responsible adults who command any considerable following on Social Media
to use whatever influence they have to introduce ethics into their use of
Social Media. This will have a pyramid effect. If young people see that their
celebrities as well as political and cultural icons are guided by a code of
ethics which restrains them and keeps them from engaging in actions that are
repugnant to the morals they had while growing up in the real world, the ripple
effect would eventually reach them and in time lead to a paradigm shift that
curbs some of these behaviors I have just described.
So, what would this
ethical code be? As one who has read from both The Holy Bible and The Qur'an, I
propose that we begin with a principle that both books teach.
In Matthew 7:12,
Jesus introduced the famous Golden Rule "do to others what you would have
them do to you". In one of the most well known hadiths of prophet Mohammed
(SAW) he said “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother
what he wishes for himself”.
I suggest that this
Golden Rule should be imbibed by all celebrities as well as Political and
Cultural icons on Social Media.
And how would it
work?
Life on earth is a
duality. In most cases, you are faced with an either or situation. For
instance, you either supported President Goodluck Jonathan in the last
presidential election in 2011 or you supported another candidate.
So, let's say for
instance that you supported candidate Buhari. In that case, what you don't wish
for Buhari, don't wish it for President Goodluck Jonathan and vice versa for
those who supported candidate President Jonathan.
For further example,
you don't have to wish for the success of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP if
you support the All Progressive Congress, APC, however, you do have to restrain
yourself from celebrating say an unfortunate accident that befell a governor
just because he is PDP and you are APC.
Let's shift away
from the politics of bitterness in favour of the politics of betterness. Let's
discard our arsenal of insults and abusive words in favour of an arsenal of
ideas and strategies.
If those at the top
of the pyramid can check themselves along these guidelines, Social Media can
become once again the force for social good that it was designed to be and
empathy and a moral compass can once more thrive amongst our young people as it
did when some of us were ourselves young adults.
The youth are the
Vanguard of our future and if you as a celebrity or political/cultural icon
don't feel the need to help cleanse social media of this malaise, it could be
your turn tomorrow. Nobody knows tomorrow, so you do not have to wait until it
happens to you before you take corrective action.
As for those elders
who stoke such divisive and inhuman tendencies on social media, they may choose
to continue feeding the habit of hatred and bitterness, but as has been said
time and again, hatred and bitterness are futile for the same reason that it is
futile to consume poison and hope that it will kill your enemy. By the time
they realize how much damage they have done to their reputation it will be too
late. Let us hope however that these drowning men do not take gullible youths
down with them even as discerning youths know that they never courted them when
the going was good for them politically.
Regards,
Reno Omokri
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