Friday, 23 October 2015

Internet for youth: a spider’s trap or a web for friendship and knowledge?

If we believe the media, more or less the majority of young Africans spend their time
on the net playing video games, exchanging languorously with their girlfriends or boyfriends,
looking at pornography and seeking out pen pals and visas to emigrate. But since not all of
them  are  in  the  same  boat,  the  media  also  informs  us  that  some  students  use  the  net  to
search for educational resources and study bursaries.

The  phenomena  of  acculturation  is  generally  associated  with  immigration  and
therefore  to  the  migration  of  individuals.  It  appears  that  internet  brings  a  different
dimension to this concept. In fact it is perhaps no longer necessary to emigrate to become
the victim of acculturation. A switched-on Akinyi  from Kenya can learn everything about a
Breton  living  in  France in  a  few  clicks,  thanks  to  the  magic  of  the  net:  how  to  dress  like  a
Breton,  eat  like  one,  even  speak  Breton,  while  never  having  crossed  the  border  to  enter
France. With little Akinyi contribution to the net, however, it is not certain that the Breton
could learn as much about a Akinyi. Just one example of one-way communication.

                                                                                                                                    By Ben

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