Actress and filmmaker Mary Njoku has voiced her disappointment over how social media is being used in Nigeria, stressing that the pursuit of clout and instant popularity is gradually overshadowing compassion.
In a post shared via Instagram on Wednesday, Njoku explained that while social platforms have achieved great things globally, their purpose at home has been twisted.
According to her: “What exactly are we turning into? Social media should be a powerful tool. Around the world, it has been used to rewrite narratives, to expose injustice, to amplify activism, to spark nation-building. It has united communities, toppled corrupt systems, and given a voice to the voiceless.
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But here at home, we seem to be using it differently. For us, the hunger for clout, for virality, for instant fame has started to cloud our humanity. It has drowned out empathy.”
Njoku noted that tragedy and suffering are now being presented as comic skits or sensational content.
“Sometimes I open my feed and all I see is noise. Pain broadcast like entertainment. Suffering is packaged as skits. I find myself logging off, choosing instead to face my real world. To solve real problems, with real people, in real time,” she said.
She further asked: “What are we becoming, if every tragedy must first become a trending video? What are we becoming, if every cry is just background noise for someone else’s content calendar?”
Calling for restraint, the actress urged people to reflect before sharing content: “We must pause. We must breathe. We must search inside for the human we are at risk of losing. Before you type, before you record, before you upload, STOP. Please STOP and ask yourself: Am I amplifying humanity, or am I stripping it away? We are still human in this country… aren’t we?”
