Social networks a curse or boon?

The proliferation of these sites has attracted both the young and the old and surprisingly, political parties, churches and other civic organisations.

These sites have to a certain extent drawn people from disparate geographical locations closer. Of course I cannot rule out the problem of the digital divide which has hindered many people from accessing the internet and partaking fully in the process of communication via these networking sites.

For this article I tried to gather views from various stakeholders across the social spectrum on the impact of these sites in Zimbabwean society.

Information is one of the basic requisites for driving social change in communities. It keeps people updated with the current trends because being current is the currency of these days. The social change due to the flow of information can either be positive or catastrophic to social development. I tried to find out from the “netizens” themselves if the networking sites are offering a panacea to social ills and imbalances or they are merely exacerbating moral decay.

Questions kept on popping up in the writer’s mind on the efficacy of these sites to contemporary society. Do they increase immorality among people due to abuse by certain mischievous individuals or they help in curbing it? What outweighs the other between the benefits and threats they bring to our lives?

If they are to build society, these sites should run parallel to the mainstream media by acting as sources of vital information needed by people. In order to improve the lives of citizens, these sites should fill the chasm left by our Zimbabwean media. This is because there are certain social issues that have been neglected by the mainstream media, which have found room on these sites.

However, some people have argued that these sites act as catalysts for social decay, considering the detrimental information and vulgar language rampant on these forums. I have heard cases of marriage break-ups, schisms of relationships, abuse of women and young girls due to some of these sites. Students have become addicted to some of these communication tools to the extent of failing to focus wholly on their studies.

This addiction has also permeated even workplaces where in some offices employees are so obsessed with online chatting and facebooking. Hence this ends up having negative repercussions on their performance at work. The over-sceptical Christians who are fanatical about their faith have warned on the prevalence of Satanists on these net-based forums.

Interviews carried out with ordinary citizens revealed mixed feelings about the role of networking sites. Some people argued that they had improved the communication landscape because of drawing people from geographically dispersed locations closer and thus creating a global village.

“Communication is the backbone of any society because it acts as a vehicle of change and solidarity among people. The emergence of social networking sites has brought great improvements in the way we interact as families, relatives and friends.

“It is now easy to know what is happening on the other side of the world because you can see posts on these sites about such issues. You can quickly get information on what tragedy or fortune has befallen a friend or relative so as to take necessary actions. And this is essential in developing our modern society,” said Thabiso Mqhele, a student at a local college.

He said that the sites promoted democracy because they feature divergent views competing for attention as a result of a degree of freedom of expression and interaction which they offer.

The mainstream media is so selective in covering certain issues because of the editorial policies of media houses. As a result of this, there are issues that fail to find their way into both the press and broadcast media of our country. These issues which are considered to be unworthy of coverage in the mainstream media have attracted attention on these networking sites. They have become topical agendas among most netizens. These include debates on sport, sexuality, politics, matters of the heart, comments on the work of local artists/singers and rumours about celebrities.

But the underlying question is how far do these sites build our society in terms of morals, encouraging tolerance and solidarity among people since they are believed to be promoting democracy?

“The internet has corrupted our society especially youths who go to school. Our children have become so addicted to some of these communication tools to the extent that they cannot study properly because they are always on the ‘chat’ or on Whatsapp.

“Some will be busy watching and downloading videos and pictures of nude people. The majority who do this are tender aged and this already affects their morals and behaviour in the society,” said Mrs Sithembile Nyoni, a teacher in one of the local schools.

She put the blame for this on parents and guardians of these youths for buying them expensive cellphones that have functions for accessing the internet.

“There is nothing positive that these networking sites are bringing to us, rather they are behind all social ills and immorality that bedevils our modern societies especially the young ones.

“Parents should stop splashing these youths with expensive phones that they use on a daily basis to access the net. Rather they should buy them textbooks and other important tools needed at school.

They should be courageous enough to face their children and teach them about the reality of life and the dangers of misusing the internet,” Mrs Nyoni said.

However, it should be noted that the internet can be nothing but a harmless tool. The impact of the networking sites on society depends on the individual’s motives for using them. Some people, for instance religious organisations and other pressure groups, use these sites for informing the public about their own agendas or raising awareness on certain issues of paramount importance.

Ms Senelisiwe Siwela, the programmes officer for Musasa Project, said there are cases which have been brought to their attention involving couples facing marriage problems due to sites such as Facebook.

“We have dealt with a number of issues brought to our attention on marriage problems and domestic violence due to these networking sites especially Facebook when one of the spouses in a couple starts chatting with the opposite sex or meets the ex-lover.

“This has been another issue fuelling domestic violence but there is no problem with talking to the opposite sex online. For this friendship not to create any problems there is a need for each individual to be principled and faithful to the other,” Ms Siwela said.

She said that her organisation had an account on one of the sites which is used for posting information on gender-based violence and other important issues.

“We need to use these technologies for developing ourselves and not for destructive ends. These ends include the use of vulgar language, hate speech, stigmatising certain individuals in our society and uploading pornographic material,” added Ms Siwela.

Mr Zibusiso Dube, the information manager for Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), said social networking sites had the potential for contributing positively to society depending on the user.

“The negative impact of these sites to society has to do with the motives of the individual user. As BPRA we believe in employing these communication tools to disseminate information on critical issues to do with local governance.

“We have a Facebook account called Uhlelo lwezakhamizi which has about 5 000 friends and we use it to get comments from people about any issue,” said Mr Dube.

He added that apart from this account, the organisation also had a blog and an account on Twitter which are used for information dissemination.

In as much as these sites can be employed for positive ends such as information dissemination, certain individuals within the Christian community have argued that the dangers of these sites to society outweigh the benefits.

This view was also corroborated by Pastor Zwelithini Moyo, of Harvest House International Church in Bulawayo.

“These sites have in recent years gained popularity even within the church community and although with many benefits and potential opportunities, the dangers and threats of social networking are greater than advantages.

“The greatest advantage of these sites to the church is that they extend its sphere of influence. They can shape the spiritual landscape of people as much as they shaped the political landscape of the US on the 3rd of November 2008 where President Obama posted over 2,5 million supporters on Facebook in the run-up to the elections,” argued Pastor Moyo.

He added that the danger of the sites was a result of misuse by ignorant netizens who post incriminating and indecent pictures which are a threat to moral, spiritual and cultural values that the church is trying to restore.

However, he encouraged the church not to shun the sites, but come out of the cave and interrogate issues of modern day society through them. He said the church should not kill the concept of social networking but has to sanctify it.

In this regard, it is the responsibility of every netizen to ensure that the sites are employed for positive ends, ends which foster personal and social development. The abuse of these instruments may lead to personal destruction in terms of one’s dignity and moral behaviour. This also calls for the vast number of youths who abuse these sites to wake up from their sleep of ignorance and use them for improving their lives.

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