If youth of today live in a place where there is no educational foundation in the digital revolution that is taking place all over the globe, at the same time, when the youth have access to powerful, cheap smartphones with the latest apps and a massive stream of useless content, then the game is over for the future of that youth and the country they represent.
This scenario exists currently in Somalia, where there are no digital literacy programs for youth in areas such as coding, design, graphics, and the use of computers in general. But they have access to these smartphones with pre installed apps like TikTok, YouTube, and many gaming ones, which consume their time all day long. This is not only detrimental to their future but also to the future of the entire country and its people.
Imagine that your kid has a smartphone with an internet connection all day long, and you have no idea what he/she is up to. In addition, you see him/her change in mood when you talk to them or just have a concern for them because of their endless fixation on the small screen of the smartphone. What you get is anger and withdrawal from the kids in that moment.
This is what happens now to many families in Somalia, and there is no remedy to call for to change the situation of many families, particularly those in big cities and towns throughout the country where smartphones are everywhere.
You may ask, Who are these youth using their mobile phones all day long? The answer is everyone who has access to a smartphone that costs 70 dollars or more, including those who go to school. The reason is there is no awareness of the challenge that this technology can bring to those who are unprepared for it.
That is what is happening now, unless there is an understanding that the primary job of the leadership in the country is to educate its youth to the digital education necessary to develop their imagination and hence improve the chances of getting the digital workforce needed.
The damage that powerful digital companies like Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and many others are causing to poorer countries and their youth is devastating, to say the least, because there is no defence in the form of safeguards given, advice for parents and educators, or funding for digital literacy programs that can enhance the prospects of the youth and the country.
The Western countries where mainly these digital colonizers originate have safeguards and funding for their youth, particularly those from disadvantaged communities in the UK, US, and others.
There is also a massive campaign of awareness regarding the damage that using digital devices too long causes to kids and young people, and this awareness goes to every level of the societal structure and those institutions responsible for the protection of the youth and the vulnerable.
But, in Somalia, from federal government to the regional administration there is no awareness compaign regarding the damage that these overuse of the digital content causes too the youth and the people in general.
So, the missing link is the disconnect between how digital technology transforms lives in some parts of the world while in other parts of the world it disintegrates lives and futures of generations.
Siyad A. Yusuf
