Children playing kati
On the way to industrialization; telegrams were the easiest speedy way of communication in Kenya, one had to be careful to keep the message simple and avoid unnecessary full-stops and commas to minimize on charges e.g (Come home Mother sick) ; then came reverse calls, followed by public telephone booths and now cellphones and internet.......... Before the internet and cellphones teenagers and children were hardly involved in communication via the available gadgets . Their association was determined by geographical regions; which in-turn spelled the way they spend their free time playing self improvised games e.g Bano, Kati , Tapo to name just a few
Chidren playing bano
Then came the cellphones in the early nineties, which were by then expensive and only the affluent in society could afford .Thanks to evolving technology and competition, it did not take long before manufacture's came up with affordable communication devices.Now at-least every homestead owns one if not several cellphones with the children having their own. As much as we can consider these as development; the consequences are proving disastrous.Children are getting access to vulgar and obscene material on the internet and sharing it with their friends at an alarming speed all in the name of 'digital platform'
No more kati who wants to roll in the dust, just 'google ' and you will find a game of your choice online. Who will control who sees what and when on the internet? Food for thought
By Joyce Iminza
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