Contextual analysis of social networks in Uganda

Throughout the world, the use of social networks has become a tool for ‘insecurity’ and for generating social changes that lead to peace. Much of the impact was felt in the Arab world, and some in the West, caused by social economic discontent and mismanagement.

Apart from North Africa, the rest of the continent was not affected. It has yet to experience hostile political activism for its use (on social media). When the conditions for war ripened, social networks helped the revolts against the regimes.

The widespread use of social networking websites in Uganda by mostly young, curious and adventurous people in universities and well off households started in 2006. The first site to offer and popularize social networking services was hi5.com. It was famous for its highly graphic and eye-catching features. The Facebook.com insurrection was a year later.

Blocking hi5.com from access by college students gave Facebook’s service provider a monopoly on the market, as there was no other option for young people to start relationships online and share what was on their minds.

When Facebook.com was born, it spread like wildfire, so much so that no one escaped. It is now the most used social network by far in the world; all universities, corporate entities, service organizations and the majority of Ugandans access the Internet, with the greatest use being Facebook.

Hardly the staff of organizations and companies spends a single day without registering in chats, getting to know the minds of other people and starting new relationships. In fact, for most users, visiting the site is a priority, despite having very attractive hours in the workplace.

However, the use of social media for political reasons remains controversial in Uganda; there are some aspects that emerge, especially visible during campaigns for political office. It is more limited to the expression of what subscribers have in mind, to build social relationships, pass the time, initiate romantic relationships, promote business ideas, and track down old friends.

It also provides an alternative means of communication, cheaper than other communication channels in many respects. While phone calls cost more than a dollar to make a point to a single person around the world, the same amount enables mass communication, to the point of exhaustion when leveraging social networking sites.

Without incurring the high costs of traveling abroad and back home to multitask, in some parts of the country, which have Internet access, it takes next to no time and effort to multitask in much less weather.

The manufacture of Internet-enabled phones made life in the world of social networking even more interesting; without having to go to classes to learn how to use it, with just so little to learn, most young people now use it, although knowledge of the internet is limited to chatting and gambling.

But circumstances also limit them to have such a great deal of knowledge, to survive through gambling and love affairs. The way of life in Uganda guides citizens to work hard to survive, instead of complaining about the leaders and the political economy. Politics is the end of the ‘idle’ and a reserve for those who already survive from it.

Social networks are more respected in the modern world for their role in generating and spreading violent protests and armed rebellions around the world, especially in the Arabian Peninsula.

While that is true, social media can be used well, without compromising peace and stability. For example, it can be used to promote business ideas and organizational values ​​in the eyes of customers.

Widespread poverty, limited incomes and low savings, whether perpetuated by the political class, motivate Ugandans to work harder and live than create conditions for violent change. Many people struggle to find a meal a day; those able to do are restricted to certain food options that are cheap and do not constitute balanced deities. In such circumstances, social networks are applied to seek and share escape strategies, among which is the adoption of the tool of violence.

Thinking too much about the situation makes one wonder if the poor socioeconomic situation was deliberately conditioned by the government to influence citizens to focus more on developing the survival strategies necessary to meet primary needs (food and significant living standards). ) than in giving them space and time to breastfeed. nationalist sentiments to change the situation, through channels such as social networks.

Choosing to dedicate time to politics and creating conditions for socioeconomic change only detaches the agents of change from the primary commitments necessary for their survival. Furthermore, it is impossible to spend time advocating for change on an empty stomach and work under a cloud of uncertainties about life and feelings of hopelessness. The consequence of that is violence against oneself and others, through substance abuse and crime. In these conditions, social networks would be useful to facilitate ventilation and the release of bad emotions.

Bad emotions lead to aggressive behavior and are costly for both society and the aggressor. Aggressive people use violence as a survival mechanism during difficult economic and political times to make ends meet by any means, through violent robberies, violent protests, rampant corruption, violent relationships, and mob justice against economic, social, and political elements. bad in the community.

Today, the threat of internal insecurity that presents itself among citizens, perpetuated by compatriots, is hurting and generating fear on the internal front. Everything that leaves the hands of Ugandan workers ends up in the pockets of thieves. Not only do they end up denying their fellow citizens what belongs to them, but they go ahead to free them from their vital obligations, through acts of murder!

The murderers are people who, due to difficult economic times, marginalization and lack of redress from the competent authorities, resort to expensive strategies to make ends meet. The use of social networks perfectly prevails in this type of situation as channels, through which citizens advocate for structural reforms.

However, social networks continue to be a privilege for urban dwellers, due to their proximity to influential areas, where new ideas from the rest of the world accumulate before spreading to the rest of the country. These include the use of phones with Facebook provisions, access to computers, and access to energy.

The limited use of social networks, by itself, does not save the country from popular revolts, changes of political guard or socioeconomic situation. But the very conditions, under which Ugandans live, will one day change to widely consume the authorities for their irresponsibility, with or without it (social media). Many years before the introduction of computers in the country, revolutions took place. The process, however, is much longer. By the time action for change is needed, mass mental illness, due to a hopeless life, could have dimmed the hopes in the minds of those still struggling.

But by the time conditions begin to force change to occur, social media devices will be widespread across the country. They will facilitate change with much less effort, by highlighting mismanagement, inhuman life and hopelessness, to provoke anger, hatred and violence to enforce change. The reverse will also be true, when those in authority are emotionally driven to act on behalf of the people, so that the adverse effects of violence are prevented.

Currently, there is a growing insecurity and fear among the citizens, which could extend to reach the class of Ugandans, who currently feel safe, so; from self-hatred, there is mutual, group, and national hatred for everything in the country, including the leadership. It is at this time that the use of social networks for political, economic and social change will become relevant in the mobilization and coordination of rebellions.

The continuing flood of cheap Chinese phones and computers on the Ugandan market will in the near future increase access to social media for most, if not all Ugandans. And when the social environment is persistently ‘infested’ with poverty, famine, preventable death, insecurity and mismanagement, the use of social media to change the sculptural will be justified and eminent.

While the use of social media is an amazing strategy for positive change, it can be infiltrated by security officers who will be attracted by its vitality in facilitating access to information about users’ moods, mobilizing social action and possible causality. of revolutions and counter-revolutions, known to unleash chaos in nations.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda offers a good idea of ​​how bad counter-revolutions can be. If there are no meaningful systems to provide the process of eliminating mentalities that show signs of revolution and counter-revolution among people of the same nation, it will always be a matter of time before violence breaks out, facilitated by social networks.

However, there are setbacks for social media takers once they misuse the facility, when some of the opinions posted damage their reputation and deny them social capital or destroy relationships. Posted negative opinions alienate loved ones and raise concerns among authorities about the harm the person with negative thoughts could do to themselves or others through social media.

In general, significant change is possible when its need is so great that the signs make it clear to disaffected citizens that the leadership will meet with little or no opposition; the change would occur with far less damage to the economy and to lives. The use of social networks guarantees certain values ​​to protect yourself from self-harm and image destruction.

The applicability of social media for economic and social change is far from real in Uganda. The ‘barometer’ reads peace and work hard to survive. The use of social networks can be harmful, if protection values ​​and rules of use by the user are not established.

The effective use of social networks is an event of the future. The massive use of devices such as phones and computers will surely influence Ugandan society for the better, but only in the long run. The difficult times that the country is experiencing today can only be faced with resilience and coping as some citizens are already doing.

But if insecurity and widespread fears about it become a massive effect; first, insecurity will become national; second, there will be a greater need for change; third, a justifiable action for the change will occur. Generally, change has its time, it will always come.