The Volatility of the Information Age.
My mentor once wrote that, “The calamity of the information age is that the toxicity of data increases much faster than its benefits.”
It is from that maxim that I thought, we could introspectively concoct ways on how to combat the disastrous effects of the information landslide that has befallen the planet.
Engulfed in a welter of economic concerns and in the rapidness of information flow, the modern day African is overwhelmed by their day to day endeavors.
This predicament is worsened by the fact that this rapidness shows no sign of slowing down anytime from now but only increases day in, day out.
The impact of this volatility on our innate natures of calm, is so negative that it has transformed us to beings that desire the illusional need for instant gratification.
For example, because of getting used to instant results after a mere google search or sending a Whats App message, we tend to retrospectively and corroboratively transfer such satisfaction to, on a relatively trivial level, face to face dialogues with friends and to, on a complex level, entrepreneurship.
So, our unforeseen, and perhaps unintended transformation from innately calm beings to anxious ones, is significantly attributed to the rapidness of information flow, in our era.
It is this mayhem that has bred another sophisticated predicament of cyber-crimes, which brings me to the next part.
Let Us Brace Ourselves for an Era of Virtual Theft.
When a PhD holder in computer science or Information Technology develops a computer crack-code to covertly swindle billions of money from one bank account to another, that is enough justification that, the most educated sinners do the most damage.
Such “smart theft” is not smart at all!
It is only done by a smart person who ought to have utilized their smartness for the betterment of the greater humanity.
The fact that such cyber-crimes are virtual is a reason to even be more worried and cautious. This is where I ask, “Are Africans ready to counter the rapid emergence of this new but dangerous paradigm of modernity?”
I believe that, as long as we fail to exercise self-control and hence control information-flow, we are bound to witness incessant and grand occurrences of cyber-crimes.
Go slow! Information Landslide ahead.