Actress and filmmaker Mary Njoku has raised concerns about the growing misuse of social media, lamenting how the pursuit of clout and virality is overshadowing empathy.
Taking to her Instagram page on Wednesday, Njoku described social media as a tool that should be powerful for positive change but is now being misused locally.
She wrote:
“What exactly are we turning into? Social media should be a powerful tool. Around the world, it has been used to rewrite narratives, to expose injustice, to amplify activism, to spark nation-building. It has united communities, toppled corrupt systems, and given a voice to the voiceless.
But here at home, the hunger for clout, for virality, for instant fame has started to cloud our humanity. It has drowned out empathy.”
The actress said she often logs off the platform when overwhelmed by the insensitivity of its content:
“Sometimes I open my feed and all I see is noise. Pain broadcast like entertainment. Suffering is packaged as skits. I find myself logging off, choosing instead to face my real world. To solve real problems, with real people, in real time.”
Njoku also questioned the culture of turning every tragedy into trending content.
“What are we becoming, if every tragedy must first become a trending video? What are we becoming, if every cry is just background noise for someone else’s content calendar?”
She urged Nigerians to reflect before creating or sharing content online, warning against losing touch with humanity.
“We must pause. We must breathe. We must search inside for the human we are at risk of losing. Before you type, before you record, before you upload, STOP. Please STOP and ask yourself: Am I amplifying humanity, or am I stripping it away? We are still human in this country… aren’t we?”
