A family friend lost his brother. For those of you who live in the diaspora and have lost loved ones, it is the most unnerving experience. The call in the middle of the night or any other time informing you of the news is devastating enough, but when you live overseas it becomes even more traumatic. For those who are legally residing in the United States, the news brings to a halt usual activities as you focus on how to get back home. For those who have become illegal residents and therefore cannot travel back to Kenya, it is psychological torture. Someone I know lost both of his parents in Kenya and was never able to go back to bury them because of his immigration status: I can’t imagine how that has affected him. Social media is a welcome live fellowship during these times.
If you compare communication during the time of my grandfather, 1885–1984, we can say that social media within modern technology has played an important role in human family relations. The idea that parents and children can have face-to-face communication even though they are 11,000 miles apart, demonstrates the brilliance of human ingenuity. The ability of people to fellowship with loved ones separated by COVID-19 reminds me of the never-ending Divine providence in Genesis 1: 1–6.
God called all that He created GOOD. This, not to express quality and quantity, but to confirm to Himself that what He has provided in creation will be sufficient for humanity to utilize until the end of time: modern technology is part of God’s providence by His supplying creative brainpower to men and women for the purpose of increasing communication throughout the world over large distances.
It is for a good reason that we must encourage our young people to seek education. To not be satisfied with what the past generations have discovered, but to pursue that which is hidden by our Creator within his declaration of GOOD. Though education has been reduced to seeking personal providence: working to earn personal gain, the Divine Idea calls humanity to seek out that which He has created as a source of His continuing general providence to support our existence in this universe that He created.
Someone might argue that I should not be the one praising social media because my Old School mentality locks me into socializing via Microsoft Word accessed through a laptop computer. And they are right because I have revolted against having a Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, ‘nano-nano’, Tik Tok, and any other personal social media account because I have nothing to post about myself! My family and friends are my private sacred affair. I should blame my mother, Harriet Muthoni, for this. She was genetically opposed to un-necessary socialization. She was satisfied being a pastor’s wife and taking care of her 11 children. She did not have a taste for social “butterflies.” She however induced us into meditative prayer and spiritual rejoicing. Her prayers contributed to me being a disciple of Yesu Kristo.
It is with this in mind that I became very irritated recently when some young people sat next to me giggling unnecessarily for over one hour while watching video clips on Tik Tok. I confess I did not know what Tik Tok was all about until that moment. I wanted to know what was so funny therefore I asked them to show me. I am not against laughter, joy, and happiness. But the extent to which stupidity has taken over the minds of the young is heartbreaking. Twenty-four hours a day on the phone watching some guy or girl dance, jump, fall, and do unintelligent ‘stupid’ things is heartbreaking, and even more importantly, brain wasting.
Goodness, gracious! When will any of these young people ever be able to pick up a book and read? All what young people do nowadays is hurriedly complete easy homework 30 minutes in rote. When are they going to discover the GOOD that God has created? A discovery that may bring forth an object that would help their generation in the future? I thought listening to secular music when I was young was destructive, but at least most of the music had some kind of recognizable rational and relational message: “ Bridge over troubled water”, for example. The Temptations brought to us, “papa was a rolling stone”: Classic. And I love Classic Rock.
Some might say, “Oh Teddy, Tik Tok has some good things in it!” Yes indeed, very little good. As a Doctoral candidate studying Behavioral Psychology within neuroscience, I am concerned that Tik Tok is a kind of attention-deficient, brain-programming hypnosis that mesmerizes and breaks off the brain’s ability to focus for more than 15 seconds at a time. And maybe that is what it was designed to be—a very destructive hypnotic tool that impedes the brain’s ability to focus, think critically, or logically—unending meaningless entertainment that brings about the end of the brain’s ability to think logically.
The sad thing is, many adults are sitting with their children wasting their brains in this hypnotic social media outlet, laughing like hyenas enjoying rotten carcas.
Teddy Njoroge Kamau (PhD)
HTBluff Associates
Diaspora Messenger Senior Columnist
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