It is not surprising that more and more Africans are embracing technology and the digital way of life. This is simply because Africa is indeed a continent that has always been curious, energetic, hardworking, innovative and much more. Yes, I’d agree that at some point, Africans, particularly leaders, became too dependent on natural resources and the divisive style of our colonial masters did not help matters.
That notwithstanding, the younger generation of Africans today are embracing technology in an interesting way. For instance, many now prefer to order for food online, rather than visit a local food vendor; they log on to their social media accounts and prefer to interact with their friends through that medium, rather than going over to them for a visit.
This is technology working at its peak, affecting our lifestyles and influencing our behaviour. Recall that the technology that gave birth to the industrial revolution in Europe and America also established the industrial society. Radio created a society of music listeners, while the television established a culture of movies and TV reality shows.
It is pertinent to state that culture, in this context, refers to the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society. In the many small ways that technology has affected our collective and individual behaviour, these have added up to the cultural changes that we see today.
From the two examples pointed out earlier, it can clearly be seen that the behaviour of an individual can influence that of others through technology. Some have even argued that the influence of technology on culture is negative, but one cannot forget in a hurry how the Arab spring started, with the aid of informative technology. Technology has enhanced a form of seamless universal correctness, established new economic realities and created pathways for good governance.
Technology has enabled the establishment of relationships and communities that can exactly fit into our own version of survival. The influence of technology on culture should be viewed as a positive addition to the areas that can be explored more for the overall benefit.
It is not a new cliché any longer that technology is changing almost every other aspects of our lives, with huge benefits to the society. Sometimes, technology is beyond the hardware and software that solve the challenges, but rather about managing the process that accompanies the change in culture.
Having the opportunity to have travelled beyond the shores of the African continent, I have come across a variety of cultures and seen how technology is getting adopted in diverse fields of endeavours.
Cultural differences have also been influenced by global communications created by technology. Today, we communicate via Skype, emails and social media channels, irrespective of what part of the world the parties involved are communicating from.
Technology has been able to break through the limitations of culture. Humans are wired to be social animals and it appears that technology may not be able to replace human interaction, however, — Finish Reading on the Punch
