Abanda John Uket|23 October 2015|3:50am
Social media especially Facebook is a platform wherein everyone who have an account and have signed in can always share his/her thoughts, give opinions on matters of concern he/she deem appropriate. Many can even use it to attack the personalities of others not minding the aftermath. The self exhibition of selfies/pictures is not out of the 'fun'.
The coming of these social media platform has turned virtually every one to a journalist or to say the least a reporter, for it causes even those who lack journalistic-cum-reporting skills to report on issues in a manner that, a times, violates the ethics of the profession of the 'fourth arm of government' when taken seriously.
Moreover, posts that are made by individuals are seen by their friends, mostly those they tag into such posts or pictures. Hence, this necessitates either comments or liking the page with a rare performance of the two. However, due to the veracity and importance of some posts and the need to cover a wide range of audience, some of these posts are shared in groups with the intentionality that people of that group will be fed with the information. This validates and justifies the importance of the formation of groups, albeit the fact that, most members of some groups do not have a common interest.
A group is actually supposed to harbour those whose members have common interest(s). Nevertheless, the trend seems and is something else this days as a post made by an individual on a group may be shared by another member(s) of the group, not to another group or page, but on the same group just where he or she saw such a post. It makes for emphasis perhaps and to cause traffic on such a post even though its content(s) may not be a welcoming one, not to say if this person took time reading it to, if not attempt ideological construction but grammatical bastardisation.
It doesn't make sense. Some do the sharing when the content of the post is so abstract that they cannot comprehend. Some terminologies employed in the expression of the post are jaw-breaking. It portrays such a person, not just as a cheap senseless follower but an outright simpleton. A real ninnyharmmer if you wish.
It was against the above background that the English Franciscan friar, who doubles as a philosopher and theologian, Williams of Oakham (c. 1287-1347) stated thus "Non sunt multiplicanda entia sine necessitate" ( Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity"). This implies that, the value of a post, in this our regards is not sold by the reposting or sharing the post but in the assimilation and comprehension of same. Although one may want to argue that Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate (Plurality must never be posited without necessity). That it's based on the importance of the post that it's being shared and re-shared. We will only be over stating the obvious thus aiding it loose it onions. If a post is deemed too important to scroll pass, a comment, sharing it to a targets inbox, or sharing it in a group or page where it did not reach, is a welcomed development, but not on the same page. It's over emphasizing the obvious thus making it disinteresting and inconveniencing to others. Undue loyalists should consider this reflect.
Nevertheless, one is fully conscious of the fact that most of our pages are of political origin and as our political orientation goes, to counter the opposition even in the face of glaring truth, (exception to this are few persons who may have to acknowledge the 'good ' in the opposition passively). We must therefore make our posts not just because we want to damn the policies of the others but making them with the open mind of accepting rational corrections.
Uket, Abanda John
Is a Public Affairs Analyst & Social Commentator
Uketabandajakob@gmail.com
