I’m just going to say it: I have a complicated relationship with the internet. Complicated because it’s one of the few things that I really enjoy and hate at the same time. This internal angst also extends, but is not limited to: red velvet cake, KUWTK and working out. All these things reflect, for me anyway, what’s simultaneously great and horrible about society at large. But we’re here to talk about the internet, so I’ll save the other hot takes for another day.
Back to the internet.
It’s interesting to see how over the past few years, our lives have been revolutionized by modern technology, making how we connect, play and work more digitized. We have Twitter to share our thoughts, Sims to live out some of our fantasies and Zoom to attend meetings from the comfort of our own homes. Earlier this year, I read Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion and there’s a particularly interesting chapter called “The I In Internet” where she critiques online culture and behaviour. In it, she writes, “I’ve been thinking about five intersecting problems. First, how the internet is built to distend our sense of identity; second, how it encourages us to overvalue our opinions; third, how it maximizes our sense of opposition; fourth, how it cheapens our understanding of solidarity; and, finally, how it destroys our sense of scale.” Points were made.
The irony however isn’t lost on me that FEMME MAG – a digital platform that only exists at the moment on the internet – benefits from it. I’m grateful for the space it affords publications like ours to exist, and the ability to connect with a growing audience of womxn around the world. I’m also grateful for the ease and convenience of the internet: the ability to order food to your doorstep, re-live old Nollywood movies on Instagram and work remotely. It has its merits.
We’re currently living in what’s being referred to as the “Information Age”, and now more than ever, we’re able to access information on the go and on-demand. As a result, we now have a wider ecosystem of voices, enabling more nuanced conversations that you might not necessarily find in mainstream media. In countries like Nigeria especially, where human rights are mythical and laws are rarely enforced, the internet affords us, to some extent, a place where social, political and economic issues can be raised and generate a response from our leaders. For womxn and marginalized groups, where our identities are under consistent attack and suppression, it has also given us communities to bond with and safe spaces to exist.
It gets a bit complicated, however, when we look at the not so great parts of the internet: surveillance capitalism, fake news and an overload of information at an uncontrolled rate. I don’t think it’s normal to wake up and be inundated with information about hundreds of people’s thoughts or activities. I don’t think it’s safe that our online activities are being closely monitored and tracked to be sold as data to advertising companies so that they can push us to buy more things. I don’t think it’s healthy to feel the need to perform an identity for an ever-present global audience every time I go online. I just don’t.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m fascinated with this new age we’re in. It’s a complicated time. This month as FEMME MAG, we’re going to be exploring our relationship with the internet and modern-day technology. We want to take a look at how it’s impacting how we date, our sex lives, career opportunities and mental health. We want to find out how it’s influencing our behaviours and unpack some of our security concerns.
Welcome to Digital Month guys!
