The internet is a revolutionary tool. No,
scratch that. The internet is revolution- perhaps; you should scratch that too and
any other attempt at describing the internet.
It
is ever evolving; to attempt to describe its impact in definite terms is to do
it crippling injustice. Best we just gratuitously employ it- and quietly too.
But the internet can be questioned, its
reach as many other aspects of its being can be argued upon. Suffice to say it
is massive potential, one that can be applied for and against the advancement
of man.
Here, I intend to concern you with just how
the internet ‘’advances’’ man. The internet as we know it today is technology
that is very young. It is the product of centuries of humanity’s accumulated
intelligence. It offers us certain advantages but, certainly not the type of
advantages that are entirely exceptional when singled out for scrutiny.
However, the internet has changed a lot of things. It has reformed the way we
work, interact with one another, direct the flow of ideas, and organize folks
and movements around the globe. However the scale of its influence is grossly
underrated and in some cases; out rightly dismissed.
Along with the change the internet has
advanced, it has also introduced its own lexicon: e-commerce, e-government, e-mail
and a plethora of other ‘e’s. And here is the catch; we add the e-prefix to
convey the internet/online variant of an already existing
idea-word-thing-practice. It does not necessarily create a new entity, it
merely restructures the entity with internet attributes-namely; speed,
transparency, etcetera.
@KathleenNdongmo; there is a difference between an active citizen and a
passive citizen, irrespective of the fact that we are all citizens. Now pick
your corner.
There are people who are always going to be
content with the status-quo. This is not because the said status-quo is a favorable one. Instead, it is because they are all too willing to settle for
less, seeking to eke out a negotiated existence on the fringes of cowardice. Sometimes,
it’s just narcissism. An obsession with one’s self so advanced that one becomes
oblivious to the inequalities of society simply because our ‘negotiated
existence’ provides some temporal relief from some these hardships. Life being
the complexity that it is full of these ‘harsh realities’ and in some cases, we
accept whatever inconvenience life/society gives because we do not know how
else to confront them. We are weak and down trodden. We cannot fight; we need
heroes, champions, and people more ‘active’ in pursuit of better living
conditions than we are. We need an activist.
Activism has existed ever since man
realised he could attempt to change whatever misfortune that befalls him.
Activism has been around for a very long time and justifiably so. The world’s
collective history is one continuous active march. To be active is to do. To do
is to do. Do something,- not particularly one specific or agreed thing but
‘something’. Thus there is activism in raising objection to a particular notion
as there is to pursuing a favourable one. Preferentially patronizing a
particular business is activism just as boycotting another is activism. Street
marches are expressions of activism, sit-ins also. Occupy Nigeria
movement-remember that?-yeah, that is activism. So also is writing a letter to
your government.
Whoever amongst you sees anything objectionable, let him change it with
his hands, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not able to do
so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest of faith. Muhammad, SAW. (Reported by Muslim).
Fortunately for activism, the internet
(that phenom that defies apt description) has come to its aid. Or has it?
Internet activism, A.K.A digital activism,
digital complaining, e-bitchn’, online activism, is the use of electronic media
tools such as YouTube, Twitter, Face book, Podcast etcetera, etcetera, to
enable faster communication by citizens, organize movements and engineer the
delivery of information to a large audience.
The opposing views posed by critics of
internet activism are realistic ones regardless of how helpful or revolutionary
the internet actually is. They (these views) highlight the paradox that is the
internet itself:
Demographics; Digital divide, literacy level. Not everyone
can use the net. The impact of its reach in this case is limited. Similarly,
not everyone can afford the internet.
Echo Chamber effect, Cyber balkanization ;
reducing issues to debate topics where contributions become merely for ego aggrandizement
consequently leading to fragmentation and further polarization as opposed to
increased mutual understanding of the topic. Also, there is the risk of
information overload and questions concerning the source of information and the
motives of the source that posts the information. To educate or gravitate?
Anyone can get online and misinform, even an autocratic government.
Offline action; its hard to be able to
gauge just how effective the internet is at generating a coordinated offline
response. Just because people click or read blogs does not necessarily mean
that they are willing to go out on the
streets to act it out.
@Atomlim; we should be a team complementing
one another. This u r not doing anything talk is BS jor.
The argument about the effectiveness of
internet activism is not limited to the above reasons only. I only mention them
because they serve as the basis for the most potent criticism of internet
activism in Nigeria. But to be fair, how has internet activism fared in
Nigeria?
It’s a tricky question to answer
accurately, but a clearer picture emerges when you remove internet activism in
Nigeria and then try to judge the impacts of recent movements. Would #OJB have
been so successful without internet activism? Same can be said of #OccupyNigeria. Looking
outside these shores we have the ongoing Arab spring revolution. Would these
movements have the impact that they possess without the internet?
The internet is a massive ongoing
experimentation; so also, its impact cannot be said of in a fixated manner. It
is dynamic; changing according to the cause it is applied to and with varying
degrees of success. What cannot be disputed however is the speed of
dissemination of data. This is its ultimate triumph.
As the Nigerian government employed strong
arm tactics in the wake of the fuel subsidy protests, it tried to misinform
Nigerians about certain aspects of the fuel subsidy programme. It was a ploy
that most likely would have worked well for it if not for an active internet
presence that acted promptly to educate Nigerians on the true nature of things.
Internet activism helped coordinate and maintain a massive protest
that had the government deadlocked for days. Until of course a treacherous
offline labor leadership sold out.
So yes, internet activism is informing
Nigerians, “doing something”, and empowering people by information
dissemination at least. But it is a work in progress. Recently, there have been
anguished cries over #childnotbride. A menace that the Nigerian media, both
private and government owned, has refused to educate people on. (It eternally
fails to do so)
Led on by that randy rascal in the senate,
Sen. Yerima seeks to manipulate a clause in the constitution to allow him and
his likes to sexually abuse underage females under the pretext of enjoying his
“religious entitlements”. A matter that has on social media provoked,
passionate discussions, with some in support of the senator. Ignoring the fact
that the child in question is only recently 16yrs and him, having ravaged her
for the past 3yrs. (He contracted the marriage when she was only 13yrs old.)
There is no point in mentioning what manner
of outrage this would generate in saner climes, our internet activists are
doing that just nicely. Effectively pointing out, limitations in street marches and
an alarmingly impotent media.
@PUREHAIRE; We’ll be meeting in Abuja tomorrow @ unity
fountain 9am-12pm. Do your part. #childnotbride. Spread the word & force
the senate to vote.
