A Challenged Nation In Love With Challenges (Alice In Naijaland)
One of the major sources of joy, comfort, and escape from monotony for most Nigerians during the Covid-19 forced lockdown was social media. Twitter was a favorite for many, while Tiktok was discovered by more.
With video downloaders, contents are no longer exclusive to one platform.
This meant that lots of the “challenges” that started on Tiktok soon popped up on Twitter. There they became massive successes.
This in turn fueled more people to get on Twitter. The fear of missing out is indeed a great motivator.
Throughout the lockdown, every day saw either a scandal, hot take, or challenge trend on social media. Some days witnessed two or even all three.
Boredom was countered with challenges after another. The originators of those challenges have no idea how much of a lifesaver and sanity preserver they were.
I expected the end of the lockdown to bring an end to this endless stream of content. Thankfully it didn’t. The end of the year 2020 rather than drawing a curtain on this phase, instead reinvigorated the interest of people in challenges.
I must mention that I love them. (In case you were wondering.) They tend to serve as much needed entertainment to counter the stress that living in Nigeria presents.
It also allows people to display their creativity with the freedom they can’t find elsewhere. I have indeed been pleasantly surprised by some people who participated in these challenges.
If you had asked me about them before I saw their entry, I would have woefully failed in predicting their level of boldness, passion, creativity, or even interest in such things.
My only issue with some of these challenges is when they get x-rated. True enough, we are a liberalized generation, but lots of times, we cross lines we come back to wish we hadn’t.
I’ll like to say own your sexuality and all, but more importantly, I’ll advise you to manage your privacy and digital footprint better.
Times and circumstances change a little too fast. You suddenly find yourself in situations you’d never dreamt of. Both for good and bad.
When they inevitably search for you online, make sure what they’ll find is exactly what you’d love them to find.
Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator, and Creative Writer.
Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. @IJOSWIL
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