By A A IsaacTamson
The modern world arrogated that technology is pulling down the pillars of ancient Nigeria; it pointed to countries like the United States of America, and Germany, among others where it has conquered and reduced their primordial walls to pillars of sand and beat its chest that Nigeria will soon become like those nations. But instead of arguing, the giant of Africa took the world to a place where Data confessed that digital technology is yet to find the long pole in the old Nigeria.
Credit: the Guardian Newspaper
Those using digital technology in Nigeria
Findings show that the internet penetration rate in Nigeria is around 51 percent (Statistica, 2022). Over 84% of the internet traffic is generated through mobile devices. Fig 1A and Fig 1B depict the percentage of individuals that have accessed the internet in the last decade and the percentage of active mobile broadband subscriptions per hundred inhabitants within the period. While the indicators revealed that the country has achieved remarkable progress which made it one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that has attained a reasonable level of digital freedom; almost half of its citizens are still under the cost.
Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) overview on digital development
More than 92 percent of Nigerian internet users are on social media; men constitute over 58 percent of the active users based on gender and youths are ranked as the highest based on age bracket. The ubiquitous optimism that technology can destroy the temples that those darker ages have spent years building has hypnotized the hearts of many. At the root of such optimism lies the necessary question that has suffered unmerited negligence. What good can technology offer those in its era that will make those who came before it salivates?
Why do youths find digital technology appealing?
The average Nigerian internet user can recite litanies of values that the internet provides. Many perceived it as a democratic force that is capable of transforming, connecting, and plugging their lives into modernity. A survey carried out in the western part of the country revealed that the majority of the secondary school students who participated identified that school work is one of the purposes that drives them to use the internet.
Source: Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice
One may easily be misled by the bells and whistles into believing that those whom the sociocultural construct stifled will now have the elbow room they’ve been looking for to spread their wings but we can see from the trends in Fig 1 and Fig 3 that the sky that seem black in the moonless night is the same that is appearing blue by daytime.
Where comes the divide?
Nigerian virtual reality is but an extension of its traditional world. For instance, the United States in its security report had described the Department of Security Services (DSS) as one of the three security forces that often report to civilian authorities but periodically act outside civilian control: on 18th July 2023, the agency took to its Twitter handle in its characteristic manner to malign and deride Barrister Maxwell Okpara, who is one of the lawyers that filed a contempt charge against the secret police for failing to respect the court ruling.
Recently, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a report which evaluates the progress of digital literacy between female and male youths of the age range 18- 24 in thirty-two countries. According to the report, only four countries reportedly demonstrate gender parity, females are more advantaged in seven countries than males, whereas they are disadvantaged in twenty-one countries.
As represented in Fig 2, Nigeria is one of those countries where females are disadvantaged, history suggests that the digital divide is driven by its “normal” physical world. Even after the advent of modernization, the traditional Nigerian society is still a male world. Such sociocultural stressor act as decelerators and hindrances on the path to democratizing digital technology despite the progress recorded in digitalization.
Digital literacy: how wide is the gender gap?
Digital literacy simply refers to the ability to access, evaluate, and utilize opportunities, tools, and information availed by digital technology for the maximization of growth and productivity. The role of digital technology in the development of society and the growth of the individual is glaringly indisputable. Even Tristan Harris whose TED talk was quoted by the author of Digital Minimalism (2019) Carl Newport as saying technology is “a slot machine” designed to “program people” did admit in his submission that the role of technology in our age cannot be ignored. To be able to use technology positively, one needs to possess certain foundational skills that will help him or her navigate to the opportunities that the digital world presents without getting trapped in its lair. As seen below, in Nigeria, there are more youths that have access to the internet than those that have internet skills and more males have digital literacy compared to females.
Source: UNICEF 2023 report on bridging the gender divide
What is it about this gap?
If it is true that digital technology enables the solving of tough problems and enhances productivity, then it means that those who are deficient in digital dexterity encounter more barriers on the path of growth and development in this age of digital disruption. Aside from the fact that the existence of a gender digital divide suggests that, today more female youth are unable to access necessary digital assets, also, the gap in digital literacy implies that more female youths that are opportune to use digital technology are more liable to face challenges and vulnerable to the negative impacts associated with it as they try to navigate it without the understanding of how to use it.
References
Carl. N. (2019.).Digital minimalism. Penguin Books Limited. https://www.ted.com/talks/tristan_harris_how_better_tech_could_protect_us_from_distraction/up-next/transcript
Dr. Opesade, A O. & Mr. Adetona, A O. Mr (2021) “An Assessment of Internet Use and Cyber-risk Prevalence among Students in Selected Nigerian Secondary Schools,” Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice: Vol. 2020: No. 2, Article 3.
UNICEF.(2023)., Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: Challenges and an Urgent Call for Action for Equitable Digital Skills Development, UNICEF, New York.