The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Netflix apologizes for filming 'Single's Inferno 3' in marine sanctuary

  • 3

    In-N-Out Burger pop-up store attracts record crowd

  • 5

    Calls grow for female flight attendants to ditch skirts for pants

  • 7

    Hamburger franchises having trouble in M&A market

  • 9

    Man gets five-year jail term for K-pop concert ticket fraud

  • 11

    Small business owners urge stricter rules on migrant workers switching jobs

  • 13

    Transgender cyclist looks to spark debate in historic appearance

  • 15

    Suspect in grisly Busan murder sent to prosecutors for further probe

  • 17

    Nexon case reignites controversy over high level of inheritance tax

  • 19

    JYP to expand partnership with US music label

  • 2

    BTS' RM named honorary ambassador of war-remains excavation agency

  • 4

    'BLACKPINK the Game' showcases group's unique charm

  • 6

    EXO's Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen in dispute with SM over contract issue

  • 8

    Pyongyang seeks to portray rocket as science effort by admitting failure: experts

  • 10

    Hallyu inspires Thailand to mull ways to export its culture

  • 12

    Police send girlfriend murder suspect to prosecution

  • 14

    From hardcore action to heart-throbbing romance, series to hit in June

  • 16

    Pandas at Everland become tourist magnet

  • 18

    S. Korea succeeds in L-SAM missile interception test for 3rd time

  • 20

    INTERVIEWFrench photographer highlights amazing transformations of dog meat farm survivors

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Sat, June 3, 2023 | 07:15
Today`s Column
Hazard of Internet age
Posted : 2012-09-17 16:54
Updated :  
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
One of the biggest and most recalcitrant problems in Nigeria today is the rapid disappearance of a reading culture. Many people barely read even newspapers, preferring instead to spend their time chatting on social networking sites. And others use it for fraudulent and heinous acts.

By Uwalaka Temple

One of the biggest and most recalcitrant problems in Nigeria today is the rapid disappearance of a reading culture. Many people barely read even newspapers, preferring instead to spend their time chatting on social networking sites. And others use it for fraudulent and heinous acts.

It is difficult to escape the influence of social networks. The trouble of being born in the social networking age is that it discourages concentration and encourages serial, kaleidoscopic exposure. Its variety becomes a narcotic, not a stimulus; you consume not what you choose and when, but when they choose and what.

In our grandparents’ eyes, such a prodigious waste of time would have been sinful because it is not used constructively for self-improvement, building moral character and shaping our own destinies. Our grandparents would have regarded it as sloth, escapism, perpetually sucking on visual candies. Yet, they would probably have found social networking just as difficult to resist as we do.

Almost anything interesting and rewarding in life requires some constructive, consistently applied effort. But not social networking sites that force us to follow their lead. They force us to live as though we were on a perpetual guided tour: three hours on Facebook, two hours on Twitter, three hours on MySpace, four hours on 2go, etc. The chats are always about romance, gossip or attempts at phishing ― an unlawful way of obtaining people’s identities for fraudulent purposes.

In short, too much social networking usurps one of the most precious of all human gifts ― the ability to focus your attention on yourself ― something only humans can do. Social networking sites have adopted a particular device to do this to capture one’s attention and hold it, because that is the prime motive of any social networking site.

The economics of social networking sites require them to assemble the largest possible audience for every moment (because that enhances its role as a profitable advertising vehicle). They live in fear of losing subscribers, rich or poor, dull or bright. So, the safest technique to guarantee mass attention is to keep everyone happy and allow them unlimited freedom.

I see the ethos of evil socialization pervading this nation and its culture. I think that evil socialization has become a model in all social networking sites, where their management allows people unhindered liberty to do what they like. I think it has become fashionable to think that social networks are the way to build a relationship and engage in romance.

I do not think that education is immune to the virus. And the responsibility of education is enormous. Teachers should reconsider the casual assumptions which social networking tends to cultivate ― that bite size is the best, complexity must be avoided, nuances are dispersible, qualification impedes the simple message, visual stimulation is a substitute for thought, and that verbal precision is an anachronism.

Literacy may not be a human right but the highly literate founding fathers might not have found it unreasonable or unattainable. We have not only failed to attain literacy as a country, statistically speaking but are also falling farther and farther short of attaining it. And while I would not go straight in suggesting that social networking sites are the cause, I believe they contribute to it and are an influence; for the dull a substitute, for the brilliant a diversion.

In our schools and homes today, teachers and parents think that social networking is the best way to impart knowledge and create relationships. It has dire consequences, as students have abandoned reading but that does not mean that social networking is not good for students.

If it must be involved in the process of learning, its use must be critical and more selective. I believe it is called “Internet literacy” if it is used to whet the appetite of students for other discipline and courses. It becomes useful if it is used to prepare a child for core competence and build skills that will positively benefit society in the future. But that is not what I am talking about.

I am talking about the tendency that I have noticed to surrender to the ethos that social networking subtly purveys: the idea that things are gotten easily, with little effort; that information can be absorbed passively; that by reading few lines online and looking at pictures, children are absorbing as much information as they might through printed pages. That is what I mean by pandering to the easy virtues of social networks, of letting young people believe that ideas are conveyed by tasty bits; that intellectual efforts need not be applied; that you can get it (as they say) quickly and painlessly.

When, in human history, has humanity collectively surrendered so much of its leisure time to one toy, one mass diversion? When did all classes and kinds of men surrender themselves wholesale, making their minds, psyches and bodies prisoners of a medium?

The world is being force fed with trivialities, with ill-perceived effects on habits of mind, language, and our tolerance for effort and our appetite for complexity. Those are the adverse effects of social networking sites.

In my opinion, there should be a way to balance freedom with responsibility for using social media. Parents must endeavor to educate their wards on the dangers of the Internet and allow them to use it profitably. Today’s teenagers are online doing practically nothing but chatting all day. They could channel their energy into research using their phones, laptops or tablets to increase their knowledge which will in turn increase their academic performance. This way, we will reduce if not eradicate criminal urges and tendencies.

Uwalaka Temple is an MBA student of Solbridge International School of Business at Woosong University in Daejeon. Email him at ubadinachi@yahoo.com.
 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Roland Garros 2023 Roland Garros 2023
2Airlines fiercely compete to acquire additional aircraft Airlines fiercely compete to acquire additional aircraft
3Seoul imposes sanctions on North Korean hacking group for role in space launch Seoul imposes sanctions on North Korean hacking group for role in space launch
4More banks offer daily interest payments on deposits More banks offer daily interest payments on deposits
5Hyundai Elevator launches AI, IoT-powered maintenance service Hyundai Elevator launches AI, IoT-powered maintenance service
6POSCO, GM expand joint EV battery materials investment in North America POSCO, GM expand joint EV battery materials investment in North America
7LG Chem joins Korean firms strengthening ties with Japan LG Chem joins Korean firms strengthening ties with Japan
8HMM tasked with preventing sale of Hyundai LNG to foreign firm HMM tasked with preventing sale of Hyundai LNG to foreign firm
9Korean stocks feared to lose steam on prolonged trade deficit, real estate doldrums Korean stocks feared to lose steam on prolonged trade deficit, real estate doldrums
10KAERI distances itself from Oxford professor's claim on Fukushima water KAERI distances itself from Oxford professor's claim on Fukushima water
Top 5 Entertainment News
1'HyeMiLeeYeChaePa' producer Lee Tae-kyung hopeful of second season 'HyeMiLeeYeChaePa' producer Lee Tae-kyung hopeful of second season
2How artist Michael Rakowitz resurrects lost past of Iraq through food packaging How artist Michael Rakowitz resurrects lost past of Iraq through food packaging
3From hardcore action to heart-throbbing romance, series to hit in June From hardcore action to heart-throbbing romance, series to hit in June
4[INTERVIEW] Lee Jun-hyuk unrecognizable in 'The Roundup: No Way Out' INTERVIEWLee Jun-hyuk unrecognizable in 'The Roundup: No Way Out'
5'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema 'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group