I wonder if my forefathers were ever curious to know the possibility of flying above the clouds without wings. Perhaps they were too busy sharpening their spears for war to give it a thought. If they were to be given another chance at life in this century, they would probably not recognize this land. I would be glad to orient them. Three things will I tell them: first is that wearing shoes in this century is an obligation; second, there is the internet that seems to control the human species; and then I will add that the blowing of horns to send a message has been replaced by ‘sliding in DMs.’
The advancement of technology is something to marvel at. Commendably, scientists have pushed themselves to the limit. Turnitin is used by some universities to detect the degree of plagiarism in every work. It is this marking aid that has a lot of ‘copy-and-paste’ students frustrated about technology. At least, they can still browse the internet for memes to get over their frustration. I believe social media comedians should get a stipend of some sort for the good work done. A certain percentage of our taxes must go to these people.
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What I am mostly glad about is not having to walk for days to get to the city. Although, with the rise in fuel prices, one may want to consider just taking a journey to the grocery shop. We can brand it as the newest weight-loss regimen and no one will suspect a thing. Alternatively, we can purchase the Tesla car. It doesn’t require gasoline because it is battery-powered. Fascinating!
When COVID-19 struck, it could have been the end of the world but it wasn’t, thanks to virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Team and the likes. Business was somewhat able to continue. For Africa, the pandemic certainly fast-tracked the long-awaited migration to e-commerce which was moving quite slowly in past years. It has prompted the catalysis of rural development. In the semi-urban and urban parts of Africa, it is a common thing to own a smartphone. If you don’t, how are you even able to post on Facebook?
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Once I watched a television show and listened to a couple; the guests, tell their story of how they met each other on a dating app. I was intrigued. Do you mean technology is the genie that can grant you love? It seems so. However, there is always the question of whether the person on the other end of the chatbox is genuine. Are they who they say they are? Do they look like their profile pictures? Is it a fake account created by an enemy to make a mockery of me? You can never be certain. Whatever the new norm may be, the good old boy-meets-girl kind of love won’t ever be unpopular.
Alas, as technology advances, so do the ills that come with it. Police warn about credit card scams every day. Cyberbullying has been one of the most severe causes of depression amongst young people. Recently, a chubby teenager was bullied for her body and was consequently entertaining suicidal thoughts. We need more body-positivity posts. Europe must know the dark side of technology very well by now. What others have already dubbed ‘World War 3’ is currently underway between brothers, Russia and Ukraine. Whilst on that one, doesn’t it seem like those who are ‘allowed’ to broker peace, are the same ones who spend more resources manufacturing weapons? In essence, those with the capacity to destroy the world, are the very ones eligible to protect lives universally? It is a paradox indeed.
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I must remind you that Africa is the youngest continent. Every young person needs to be tech-savvy. In this Fourth Industrial Revolution, Africa has been lagging. It is high time governments invest in think-tanks and research institutions that will capacitate young people to make valuable contributions to the global technological domain as well as enable them to use sophisticated technology for business and leisure. Surely, Siri must know us all in this lifetime!
This article was published in the June 2022 edition of the WSA magazine.
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