Guyana’s social landscape is changing, and its inhabitants are becoming more tech savvy and technologically inclined as each year passes, as they race to keep up with the trends and developments taking place in other parts of the Caribbean and the more developed world.
Social media has, since 2005, been redefining the manner in which Guyanese view each other, the society in which they live, and those who wield political power and influence. This newer form of media has, in a Guyana context, become more popular and way more influential than the traditional forms of media and the press in shaping the public’s perception and opinions about good governance, democracy, racism, traditional and non-traditional gender roles, health care, business and innovation, and local Government reform.
It is therefore not strange that many social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Tik
c Tok, for instance, have become modern exemplars of unbridled growth, with an unimaginably popular — and powerful — product used regularly.
As we have said in previous editorials, social media is a world within a world, and for those who were born in the 21st Century, technology is only but a natural phenomenon.
Facebook alone has over 1 billion users, which makes it the most popular social network website on Earth. Research conducted by Facebook shows that 50 per cent of its users are active users, who log on daily and spend over two billion minutes per month on the site. There is no doubt that social media and social networking are here to stay; however, added to these ‘natural’ luxuries are risks and dangers.
While these sites’ open dialogue allows individuals to express themselves, there must be some amount of user censorship, not necessarily by the domain host, but rather by the individuals themselves. Creating a profile, and giving details about yourself, hobbies and educational background are all acceptable; however, for many, every aspect of their day, work and lives is posted. Like driving, the users of social media should be cognisant of the five Cs – caution, care, common sense, courtesy and consideration – as many of the things posted can arise in the future to haunt thrones.
Guyanese must also take note that while those social-media masters sold their platforms as a great democratising force, a neutral platform allowing ordinary people around the world to make their voices heard and join with like-minded others, they also designed them to be incredibly addictive and to reward sharing of information. Human nature being what it is, people with darker motives have learned to harness this power for decidedly undemocratic aims.
Over the years, we must have learnt that social media platforms were tools used by political ideologues, both left and right, to spread false and inflammatory claims in many election cycles.
Guyanese cannot afford to fall victim to this sort of abuse. Hoaxes and lies have been a part of society forever, but the power and speed of social media amplify the damage immeasurably.
Already, several Guyanese have been hauled before the local courts to answer charges related to defamation and character assassination, cyberbully which took place on social media. Others have been arrested here for sharing sexually explicit images of young women and men on social media without their permission.
That trend is worrying, even if one wants to ignore the fact that the national and global influence of social media platforms goes beyond simply providing the platform for changing and shifting a country’s social demographics and behavioural trends.
Guyanese therefore need to become smarter about evaluating what they see on social media platforms. The Education Ministry should include in the schools’ curriculum sessions on dealing with the effects and dangers of social media.
