Nigerians on Twitter woke up three days ago to the buzz about a certain woman and her “husband” who allegedly are scammers. The shocking revelation about their “disguised” dealings and operations came to light when she put up a vacancy ad.
The woman in question is a self-acclaimed feminist and boss lady who managed to make her followers believe she is unmarried for the longest time. She owns businesses and has been able to build a career out of her proclamations on social media. Quite impressive, but all for what? You cannot imagine the disappointment of her massive cult following, mostly “liberated” women when they uncovered truths about her three days ago.
This is an outcry; a desperate plea to young Nigerians to guard their eyes and their hearts. I understand that a lot of persons have argued that the advantages of social media far outweigh the disadvantages. But where some of them advocate for increased use, others implore people to deter.
I’m joining the host of persons who have asked for the minimal use of this ‘glorious’ offspring of technology. It is important that we know that the very nature of social media forces people to be fake. Nigerians know this but have refused to accept it. Somehow, our gullibility is destroying a huge percentage of young people who are conversant with the medium. It is fast becoming a plague and more and more productive minds are lost every day to bad influence.
How many suicides do we want to record before we take action? “According to Nigeria’s first-ever National Depression Report, Nigeria currently ranks 15th in the world for suicides, according to the World Health Organization.
“Nigeria is by far Africa’s most depressed country already, with 7 million people diagnosed with the condition, according to WHO. In comparison, Ethiopia has 4.48 million, while the Democratic Republic of Congo has 2.87 million living with depression.
A THIRD OF NIGERIA’S POPULATION (ABOUT 60 MILLION PEOPLE) ARE EXPERIENCING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS.
The National Depression Report, conducted by Joy, Inc.
“The National Depression Report, conducted by Joy, Inc., surveyed people about their feelings of happiness and depression across Nigeria’s 36 states. More than 1,000 interviews conducted in all five major Nigerian languages found that 31.6 percent of the population reported symptoms of depression and 27.8 percent reported symptoms of anxiety.” _ozy.com
Where is all of that coming from? I have no doubts that aside from the failing economy of the nation, the fake life on social media also contributes. Apart from the fact that the excessive amount of time we spend on the medium takes away from our productive time, it has also produced a lot of wishful thinkers.
Young people have made themselves slaves to liars and cheats on social media. How they don’t question anything these days is alarming. Imagine a happily married woman telling other young women that “men are scum” and encourages them to stay unmarried. They fall. Why? Because she can use social media as a shield.
In another scene, a “pastor” is accused (with proofs) of raping young girls. Followers don’t care, because they are taken by the inspiring quotes he drops every single morning.
Lastly, a single parent comes out to make divorce look beautiful, and suddenly everybody has reasons to leave their “failing” marriages.
Here’s a thing, the person you worship and hold in high esteem is not what they say in real life. For followership and engagement, these persons live fat off the gullibility of Nigerians.
Do not be deceived. The woman preaching “woman empowerment for all” on social media is enduring an abusive marriage. From the “comfort” of her home, she instigates people to abandon their marriages and throw virtue to the wind. It is sad to see that mentally unstable people like that are strongly influencing the sane.
In the words of Richard Paul Evans, “social media is the equivalent of the public bathroom stall. People sit in their filth and write things they aren’t held accountable for. We see it all the time, people lifting themselves up like lights on the hill, attacking other’s beliefs or actions while, discreetly or not, asserting their own moral superiority. That exactly describes what the majority of today’s “social warriors” are doing. They are social media kings and queens, and they are also cowards”.
“Psychologically, predictably the strongest invectives seem to come from those who are doing the least for society. Society has never become more tolerant, it has simply changed targets. And, at the core of it all, are people profiting off of lies and carrying placards professing moral superiority
So enough, already. Where we may never be able to stop people from lying about their moral piousness, we need to ensure that we are cautious of the things we feed our minds. It is important to watch the kind of people we follow.
