The Internet People

By Compassion Chidozie

This piece will differ from the collective perception of what is known as the ‘Internet and People,’ just as Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga (2017) wrote that things do not (always) have the same meaning everywhere; when we insist that only “our” meaning is the “true” meaning, we silence other people’s meanings.

Looking at the mutuality of this topic, I will draw from the lens of Afrocentrism to gain insight to interrogate the ongoing conversation of Africa being accused of beneficiary of science, technology, and innovation, and not a manufacturer, and to delve into what I call the “radicalization of the social media space,” as the Gen Alphas are becoming sordid in the internet world.

The lateral connotation of this article would investigate what Mesch (2001) wrote regarding the relationship between youth leisure activities, peer relations, and prosocial attitudes and the frequency of internet use among adolescents in Nigeria nay Africa. The increase in internet users has led to a niche through which new users are obliged to follow. Since its inception, the Internet has become a global network creating new social relationships, exchanging resources, and connecting individuals all over the world. There are both social and negative relationships between the internet and the people.

The questions this article asks will be attempted from the unfiltered proposed construct of ‘Proafrocentrism’ championed by yours faithfully. Debutantly, I briefly wrote about Proafrocentrism in 2023 while reflecting on the future of African cosmology, difficulties in accessing African literature in Africa, co-creating the concept of Afrofuturism, my tenacity in the search for new archives and modes, and my interest in promoting African philosophy to unite all the established decolonial epistemologies. In the future, after conducting evidence-based research, I would like to throw it into scholarly and public consciousness.

My interest in African internet infrastructure and the polarization of social media birthed this topic. There is an interesting algorithmic-socialization paradigm the Gen Alphas are towing to remain relevant within the confines of social media to occupy space at the zenith, wearing regalia of “influence,” influencing the newbies who make less effort to challenge the status quo thereby creating a duo of the ‘Influencers’ and the ‘followers.’

However, I perceive a power play in this connection. The nonchalance of the ‘followers’ to ask questions may be due to their insensitivity to know. Once a paradigm suits their interest and provides them with temporary joy, they become less interested in asking questions. Edward H. Carr (1961:11) emphasized that people care to know and enquire about an event if it is worth knowing. If it is not, they forget about it.

Spano (2004), reiterated this grandstanding by noting that during this time, young people experience enormous changes due to physical maturation, accompanied by cognitive, social/emotional, and interpersonal changes. It is a period when the influence of parents and families gradually diminishes and the influence of external factors, such as peers; the media; the educational environment; and, more generally, the economic, social, and cultural environments in which they live, are increasingly prominent. This is the facade of the ‘Internet People’ in conjunction with the Gen Alpha, roaming around the edifice as they are maligned to process their long-term stay through manipulations.

Similarly, the ‘Internet People’ are taking ‘overconsumption pills’ which has jeopardized the “culture of trust,” turning everyone into an ambulance chaser. Right now, they are seeking answers at the wrong places, as soon as they start looking at the right places, the apples will start falling from the tree. From the corners of religion to the fabrics of politics, from society to our families, we are playing the ostrich while the Internet People bifurcate our social space in style. Their style.

Failure to admit or adapt to this style, you are taken outside the ring. The ‘Internet People’ have neglected the penchant for indigenous knowledge in assessing their dominance. They are bent on westernizing their content to generate traffic which pays off at the end of the month as I inferred it to be a zero-sum game. This is another form of “internet addiction” which means excessive use of the internet. Other appendices have deafened over this matter by creating thousands of social media pages to promote African culture and history with fewer followers. Till this moment, it is still a struggling debate.

Internet addiction is “an individual’s inability to control their Internet use, which in turn leads to feelings of distress and functional impairment of daily activities” (Shapira et al. 2003). According to Yan (2009) in Milica et al, 2012, only a small number of adolescents and adults have a correct understanding of the Internet. The addictive element may be the search for stimulation through interactive services, or the Internet may serve the purpose of an escape from real-life difficulties.

On the turning point, the internet has transformed the continent of Africa positively and negatively. The way our world is redefining beingness, it appears that every livelihood has experienced the ‘giveaway’ of the internet for the growth of businesses and society connections. Metaphorically speaking, you could notice it by counting the number of chickens slaughtered in some homes every weekend.

The ’Internet People’ has won the hearts of many through awareness and monitoring of elections, political campaigns, campaigns against fake drugs, entertainment, civil literacy, relationship counselling, gossip, and migration and kinship networks, to reach a wide audience which has become a cultural agent. They have raised the banner for rescue, entrusting our speeches on a freeway.

Do we congratulate them on this? Your answer is as good as mine. We saw this happen in Uganda when Bobi Wine threw himself in the ring to challenge the incumbent power, Yoweri Museveni. The same gesture was replicated in Nigeria when Mr. Peter Obi surfaced with his “Obedient” mantra in the 2023 presidential election. Bobi and Obi were tagged “Social Media Candidates” by their opponents. This is the political fulcrum built by the ‘Internet People.’ The ‘Internet People’ made such a happenstance possible.

Conclusively, the ‘Internet People’ are answering the questions of yesterday today, and have emerged as the most salient game changers in that they form a ‘cult’ of social familial which connects followers across many divides. Deracializing and radicalization of the space dominated by Western users by the ‘Internet People’ is a sign that power will change hands – in the future, pertinently telling us how to show up in the world. The termination of ‘borders’ has given everyone the voice to speak on the global platform without restriction.

Notwithstanding, Proafrocentrism made “freedom of open speech” a besiege of hope and Afrofuturism tells us to focus on the long and thin hands of the clock as it chimes. These are what the ‘Internet People’ projected.