Last month, almost everybody was speaking one personal wish or the other into existence on their preferred social media account. The craze began on twitter. A young lady updated her status with a wishful thought. “This time next year, I shall be in Dubai”. Nigerian music artiste, Patoranking replied the tweet with, “you can be in Dubai anytime you want if you have a valid passport.” In a twinkle of a tweet, someone’s prayer that has seen them sleeping on the mountain on empty belly was answered. Talmbout escalating fast. And before you knew it everyone started making their innermost wishes public in the hope that their own Patorankimg would show up.
As a human observer, I found the whole development amusing and instructive. On one hand is a number of people brought up with the mindset of keeping their ambitions to heart because of village people, on another hand is same people being hit with the reality of an evolving world where on social media anything is possible including the achievement of wishes.
The number of wishes spoken into existence last month across major social platforms in the country would run into thousands. Is it not strange that people hitherto afraid of sharing their dreams with people they see daily no longer mind sharing it with millions of strangers they may never meet in their lifetime?
Even if we argue that it is concrete plans that shouldn’t be shared and not mere wishes, one obvious fact that can not be relegated is the emerging shift in the way of reasoning of our people. Everyone is becoming increasingly practical. The chances of getting your own Patoranking online is same if not greater than the chances God would send someone to take care of your vacation bills if you kneel down to ask him.
The whole development reminds me of my favourite Albert Einstein quote. Let me paraphrase. The evolving world would not be survived by the most intelligent but by the most adaptable. The world is evolving and only practical people will take fullest advantage. If you’re stuck to rigid set of rules governing how you relate and live, you’re liable to just be existing without living in this evolution.
We are in a world where a Benny Hinn now suddenly recants the gospel of prosperity after decades of profiting from same. If you believe this is some holy spirit intervention then you’re not getting it yet. Man is aligning with prevailing sentiments and practical reality.
We are in a world where shooting your shots on social media for 40 days will get you a spouse faster than fasting in seclusion for the same forty days. That’s practical. We are in a world where we want to live in the world before worrying about a speculative heaven.
Nigerian social media space is now dominated by people who are socially influenced by the uniquely ubiquitous characteristics of the millenials.
Millenials are practical people and their faith in science and technology, especially the new media, is unprecedented. You don’t want to be caught lagging behind. You don’t want to be that black man that goes to the beach to wash off badluck into the sea and still come back home with a keg of sea water full of other people’s badluck.
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