Technology, Gift Or Curse?

By Daniel Bulusson, Esq

“The difference between an architect and the bricklayer is that one works smart, and the other works hard”

As young lads during the hay days before the coming of technology, we use to have pen pals across secondary schools, valentine affections were communicated through perfume sprayed letter to the other party, student’s wrote letters to parent demanding provisions, as communication in whatever form was generally done manually, now letter writing to friends and family members is the instant messaging {Whatsapp, messenger, SMS} of today’s world. For banking transactions, opening of account, deposit and withdrawal of cash, payment of school fees were all done physically over the counter by the customer as opposed to usage of banking applications in today’s world, satellite decoders with clearer picture quality have now replaced the old antenna search of “is it clear?” for television viewing.

Since the emergence of technology into the Nigerian space, office task and project goals are now easy and simple to complete, instant global communication is now being done by the second at the click of a finger, there is now easy access to a vast amount of information and knowledge sharing, even education has been exposed to advanced learning, innovation, convenience and so much more.

Looking at the few above mentioned impactful benefits of technology to our society, one would think that all will be well with the Nigeria society by now, but conversely, ours came with a curse. Many mobile phone users in Nigeria own big tech phones {Iphone 14 pro max, Samsung note, infinix, techno, redmi & the likes} and are still unaware of the capabilities of such device they hold in their hands, as a result, the chunk of the Nigerian minds have being diverted to social media proclivities, rather than the bigger picture of what technology has brought to the table.

Many of us have restricted the usage and exploration of technology to social media {Tiktok, instagram, facebook, snapchat e.t.c}, no wonder content creators are the new influencers of our society, to the extent that the Federal Government came up with the idea of a bill for social media. The government of the day is faced with a high rate of unemployment that needs addressing, yet 80% of Nigerian youths spend at least four hours a day on social media watching reels, skit and sharing posts to friends and the general public, when the same internet can be a resourceful tool for such youth to earn a decent income for his or herself.

Which begs the question, is technology a gift or a curse?, if you ask me, it can be both a gift and a curse, depending on how it is used and the context in which it is operated, so therefore, if the early adopters of technology i.e the millennial and Gen z generation who are often enthusiastic and eager to explore innovations, and termed as important catalyst for technological progress now misuse such technology on things that are detrimental or unethical to the society, then technology would be a curse to us.

Fortunately for us, all hope is not lost, as the government can step in and play a crucial role in promoting the better use of technology by implementing policies and initiatives that foster responsible and ethical usage of it, like investing in digital literacy programs for citizens of all ages {Early adopters, Tech enthusiasts, mainstream users and the late adopters}, providing funding, incentives, and resources for research and development in emerging technologies, ensuring equitable access to technology and digital services for all segments of the society, facilitating collaborations and partnerships with Tech companies to provide easy and seamless platforms to help create wealth for our youths, et al.

To my mind for there to be a paradigm shift in the use of technology as a gift to our great nation, the government ought to dedicate its energy, and resources into transforming how the youths make use of technology today, to a more positive, productive and viable usage. Anywhere one looks in the society, there is one or more youth ‘famzing’ with their smart phones {pause and take a look around you right now}, now imagine the effect on the country’s image and economic growth, if majority of these youths start using this technology to make a difference in their immediate environment, or to earn a living.

Thanks and Godspeed!

Do send your comment{s}, observation{s} and recommendation{s} to danielbulusson@gmail.com