I know. It seems like an all-too-familiar talking point that you have stumbled upon somewhere in the vast expanse of the internet. Probably, but is there anything to it? Are we getting dumber?
The stage curtains open, and the light beams on the Uyo Book Club WhatsApp group —yes, the same platform that has spurned insightful conversations chronicled in articles published on this website and ones yet unpublished. Mr. Iboro Otongaran, a seasoned poet, shared an infographic video detailing where people have spent their time over the last 95 years.
As the video progressed – and even more so into the Dotcom boom of the 90s and to the present day, it showed people spent less time with loved ones and interacting with peers and others alike in physical environments socializing. Where do we spend most of our time now? Online – 61% of it.
Mr. Otongaran followed up with two pertinent questions that we should ask ourselves as members of society:
“The point is, what are they doing online? With so much education online, and with all the human traffic thereon, why is the quality of conversation in the public space so disheartening?”
Is it true that the quality of public discourse has declined? If this is so, has the internet – social media specifically – contributed to this devolution? Dr. Ntiense Utuk seems to agree. He posits that we are now more invested in the thrill of social media metrics and the attention that comes with them. “Looking for likes, views, fast money from YouTube…” is exactly how he phrases it. Maybe it’s not so simple.
Kingsley Mark Akpan, one whose profession focuses squarely on digitization and increasing online accessibility, interestingly concurs with Dr. Ntuk: “Probably because, of the gazillion opportunities to get educated online regardless, a bulk of the demography spending most of their time on the Internet are mostly interested in the fleeting thrill of entertainment. And it gets even worse because, with the decreasing average attention span yearly, that entertainment has to be short-form to be thrilling.
That’s why in the last five years, the quickest path to fame (or infamy) is being a short-form content creator – skits. And the content has to be cruise – not serious or educating, just thrilling and fun. 90 seconds of hahaha and be done with it.
Online or off it, educating oneself requires concentrating for long periods, for extended stretches of time. And there’s no dopamine rush of excitement for it. I’ve read somewhere that 90 – 93% of people quit halfway through learning online. Worse if they have nothing to lose like already paying a course fee or an envisaged promotion.
There are people who haven’t read a full article all year and it’s why bloggers, for example, get away with horrendous deceitful headlines on social media, or propagandists twisting issues in the news out of context to fit their skewed narratives.
Knowing all of the above, it’s unsurprising why the quality of conversation in the public space is so disheartening. You have to be informed before you can inform. I suppose it also reinforces the dire need for platforms like the Uyo Book Club which drive the gospel of reading, educating, leading, unlearning, and relearning.” A jab at the very heart of internet trends.
What is next?
Still, it’s not all dystopian and downhill hence. Engr. Theophilus Edet, a software engineer and published author of computer systems literature, opines the culture shift and our increasing online dependence for socialization and interacting with the world around us are inevitably cautious as we are of embracing it.
“Did you know that the average person spends over 6 hours and 36 minutes online per day? This means that our lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital world. From social media to e-commerce, online platforms are shaping every aspect of our lives. The rise of online learning platforms and virtual classrooms is revolutionizing education. We’re shifting from traditional textbooks to digital resources, and from physical classrooms to virtual ones.
However, as we become more reliant on the digital world, it’s important to practice responsible online behavior. This includes protecting our privacy, being mindful of the information we share online, and using technology responsibly. As we spend more and more time online, it’s crucial to be mindful of the impact it has on our well-being. Let’s embrace the digital age while staying grounded in the real world.
This is a nightmare for newspaper houses and print-format publishers. The world has left them behind by going online. This also means that education could go 100% online in the near future.” Direct and head-on, and it marries the opinions of thought leaders across the world.
Maybe Engr. Edet’s concluding paragraph is where the problem stems from: the unregulated democratization of information curation and dissemination by the untrained and inexperienced; somewhat like anyone other than nuclear physicists handling Uranium isotopes.
The experienced engineer-turn-editor, Mr. Nsikan Essien, under whose watch informing the public has always been a core mandate puts it succinctly:
“The traditional or mainstream media houses have the experience, infrastructure, and management to put online the content that can generate online traffic. [The internet is a] nightmare to newspaper houses? Can newspaper houses not make enough returns on online editions? They can. The printing aspect of newspapers adds a very significant percentage to production costs.
I guess managers of newspaper houses will be most happy to remove printing from their production overhead. Job losses in the printing section are an issue.
We could only get across our content through newsprint hardware. We were and are still selling content, Editorial materials, and advertisements. These same contents are sold online. Newsprints and printing process were unavoidable overheads, not a cash cow.”
So, the argument is maybe because the accessibility of the internet exposes users to a deluge of misinformation and low-quality content at the click of a screen, what is consumed affects how well-informed users are which in turn means the roundedness of public discourses has taken a dip.
That stated, are we dumber than we used to be? Has the internet made us less smart? The first proof is, that the internet is evidence in itself that we are smart and can expand the bounds of innovation. But the internet, like a pen, a machete, or a rope is just a tool. Tools are means to an end – any envisaged end – depending entirely on how they are utilized.
The internet has not made us dumber. If we seem to have become so on average, it boils right down to how the bulk of its users engage with it. It could facilitate engaging and educating interactions like it always does across all Uyo Book Club platforms which has spurred countless to be readers, and birthed and magnetized writers and authors, budding and established alike.
Maybe the dam to stem the noticed decline is more of the experienced and trained adapting and taking advantage of the tool that is the internet to teach and educate. They have to do exactly what the inexperienced do – fill the social media space and the wider internet with content that improves the quality of public discourses we crave.
In Nigeria, as in other parts of the world, this reality is beginning to dawn on the experienced – the trained and the designated tutors of society. As of July 2024, traditional media outlets manned by professionals tasked with educating the public had the most visited news websites. They also have been the dominant public conversation starters, adapting to internet cultures and trends, and stirring and steering the public conversations. In the course of doing these, they have been attracting hundreds of millions of followers and visits to their social media platforms and news websites.
Maybe there would be a multiplier effect over time and the quality of our conversations as a society would improve soon enough. Time would be the best judge. But in the meantime, platforms like the Uyo Book Club – and its members with vast experience in different fields – would continue to be at the vanguard of this yearn-for proselytizing.
