The plausible truth is that modern technology, especially cellphones, tablets and computers has made our lives seemingly easier and more convenient. The effects of technology have had a great impact on humankind since early inventions and now life is only becoming less and less manual instead it gets more and more technically motivated. 

Let’s discuss the impact of our social media, is your use of social media healthy? 

 

 

The use of social media for most users is beyond a healthy balanced state. Social media can be abused, misused and misunderstood and therefore leaves us with a  disastrous effect. We all use social media, from WhatsApp, discord and SMS on a closed network and Facebook or Twitter on open networks, most of us the youth are victims of depression and anxiety as a result of social media and I’m saying victims because we are constantly being conditioned by influential nature that social media exposes us to. We are constantly seeking acceptance and validation through social media and to be validated as a person, our existence as humans is questioned, social media is the app-roval mechanism. It is scary to imagine how many times we weigh out our own decisions and turn to social media for a response or some form of approval.  From small to big to all decisions we tend to affirm our lives and livelihood by watching how others live their lives through our cell phone screens. 

 

Social media sets a high standard of living for both men and women to be exceptional and worth an audience, you need to drive a luxury/high standard motor vehicle, live in a certain area/house, it has got to a point where even how you make your money is not questionable.  People don’t care how you make money they only care about how you spend it, because of all the conditioning and lack of social, technological and financial education. We have all been exposed to scams, either as victimised consumers or we know someone close to us who was once scammed, the same people that scam people on the internet go and buy designer clothes, and vehicles and purchase the most expensive bottles of champagne in the clubs. This might just be speculation based on the stories told about most of these scammers but the vast majority of users still look up to them and admire them, because of the social norm that social media has indoctrinated in our minds, we aspire to be successful like we see them be, whilst making easy money only to waste it on a lifestyle. The increased rate of crimes is also influenced by social pressure, people need to meet a certain standard in black communities, and there’s a standard of living that is set by social media that everybody is trying to meet. 

 

Social programming is very serious, especially in our black African communities, you get completely absorbed in the dream lifestyle and get caught up in the highlights. Social media users in the urban areas are the highly targeted for social programming, we get consumed so much by the social facts, quick example, look at how we are all influenced to use a common brand of cellphone because it sets a standard about who you are and if whether or not you fit in a group of society. Look at how apple products get sold out in South Africa, it is one of the first few countries to always be stocked out after the United State, the United Kingdom, Japan and Dubai. Now my question is how are we still a developing country battling with poverty but yet have the luxury to purchase, in fact-stock out, one of the world’s leading products? There is clearly no balance or sense at play here. 

In my opinion, people from rural areas live a less socially constricted lifestyle because most dwellers of the area don’t have access to smartphones or the internet and are not exposed to certain lifestyles people in urban areas live. The less that you are connected to the social myths, the more genuine and free you are to live as you wish. 

 

Before we became coerced by the social facts we used to go to a bar, a regular bar or a club, buy ourselves a drink and just enjoy the music with a group of friends, that was how easy it was to have fun. These days, people need to have a proper outfit checked, and have at least a few thousand rands in their pocket to spare, that’s only for an average night. I have seen a lot of people pay bills of well over half a million or a million, taking pictures and posting it on social media. So we go out to prove how heavy and deep our pockets are, but my question is, at the end of the night would you be fulfilled and happy that you spend so much money on alcohol and food in such a short period of time? Money that could feed over 10 starving families for at least 10 months? It makes me wonder where we going as a nation, are we really motivated to work so hard to feed people a good lifestyle online?  If this is how we are leading our own generation, how is the next generation going to cope under the social pressures? Where are we putting our principles as young black people? 

 

We all grew up in a generation where “sugar-daddies” were a thing, but it was kept behind closed doors, but today I see a lot of young girls dating old men with no shame, just so they can buy a weave and the latest iPhone. The focus has shifted from “working hard to get everything I need and want” to “who can I date that’s going to provide me with a good life”. Dating has also become a question of “what can you bring to the table”,  there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting better for yourself but it's shocking how most young females think that it is utterly a man’s responsibility to come fully packaged and with loaded pockets and the only thing they are bringing to the table themselves, is themselves. 

 

My suggestion is for us to cultivate a culture where we understand modern tools and how to use them, money and social media were not invented to control us but as tools to express the value, we have to offer in our communities. 

Social media is a tool that can be used to develop communication and social support, social media helps you connect to the world. We need to start learning how to balance our use of social media to avoid being absorbed in it and to avoid the mental distress that may build up. We need to start living outside that box, and in order to be able to do that one needs to truly know themselves, understand themselves and stand our ground. That would make it easy to switch your phone off sometimes and just live life. You need to also practice enjoying life’s moments without having the urge to share every little part of it online.