What are Africans doing on the internet? Reading, chatting or surfing? For chronic readers, reading has become even easier and more interesting due to the variety of materials from which information can be gleaned. Reading culture is the idea of developing the habit and patience to read. Reading is the only known way to appreciate literacy and literary works. Somehow, with the invention of the internet, Africans seem to read less than they did when they were just books. In general, there is concern around the world about the decline in reading culture. With the rise of many social networks, the ironic truth is that people may still be reading, but the concern is the quality and relevance of what they are reading.
Likewise, there are various forms of engaging in pastimes on the internet, so there are also interesting pieces of literature worth reading, but modern youth would rather choose something in entertainment news and celebrity gossip, probably because they are lightweight. What does the Internet bring most to African audiences? What materials are you talking about? Do they really have the patience to read literary plays? Internet use is growing rapidly in Africa, but to what extent has it promoted African reading culture? Is it a question of language, will Africans read more if more materials were written in native languages? It seems that there is a lot to consider when the topic of reading comes up, orientation is one (culture), availability of materials, interests and trends.
The internet actually has the potential to make the reading habit a lot easier, maybe trendier. As much as there are concerns about the quality and authenticity of materials on the internet, there is a greater likelihood that the love and passion for reading among internet users in Africa will grow. You know what they say, it takes constant repetition to make or break a habit. A chronic reader reads everything from the pages of a book to the internet to legible things on a billboard or a moving vehicle. Some people just love to read, it comes naturally to them, but others may be tempted because of the trendy euphoria brought about by the technology or necessity. With the Internet, however, the average African reads only out of interest, perhaps out of curiosity (albeit in a very small percentage). In any case, while internet use is increasing in Africa due to the growth of mobile phone technology, some are spending quite a bit of time on the internet, being busy for one purpose or another, but not always reading in the proper sense.
Africans weren’t always the reading type. The earlier educated Africans embraced it because it was the newest and newest solution to a successful life. something you must do if you want to be as smart and intelligent as the white men. Evidence that reading is not in our culture lies in our pattern of cultural preservation—participation and storytelling. this is how we preserved historical experiences. Africans love storytelling, perhaps this is why the African film industry is booming beyond expectations. Even on social media, there’s a chance that if it doesn’t feel good, a small percentage will bother to look at it.
Aside from the Egyptian hieroglyphs, I doubt if any other original African spelling existed in Africa until contact with the West. Therefore, until the coming of the white man, our form of education was simply informal. Over time, our fathers began to patronize Western education, and it really served them. At that time, the exchange of experiences through writing began in Africa. Reading and writing became an intellectual trend and a means of knowledge acquisition and social empowerment. In the same way, so many trendy inventions have entered the modern system that they consume the time and energy of the literacy community. Unfortunately, reading doesn’t seem to top the list like it used to.
While some people develop a love of reading, some others do so at school and others alone. Those who still retain the habit fall mostly in the first category. Maybe if we all saw our fathers read, we all would. Most people only read for the time they are in school; because it is a requirement for formal education. Once they graduate it’s quite a long break from books how much more they read. Schools should continue to instill the culture of reading in students long after they leave the institution. This is meant to be a habit that will serve students for life, not to be rejected once you assume you have the freedom not to read. Maybe if we use reading culture for the miracle Having seen that it is, reading for leisure will be much more welcome in Africa. You are expected to have read a certain amount of materials in your lifetime. But as said before, not everyone has what it takes to read.
Some prefer movies, others music, these are their own ways of gaining knowledge. However, it should be noted that these other means of knowledge acquisition might not be as rich if the technology user team had not acquired them from somewhere. What you find in a book is a testament to people’s lives and what shapes them.
A great asset that the internet has done in Africa is providing certain materials for people to read and learn about. Nowadays you have to read e-magazines and newspapers, but you still know that fact has in no way made reading a popular trend in Africa. So is the internet better equipped for other kinds of pastimes than reading? Most likely, books are inherently valued more than articles, as the work is expected to have undergone extensive research. Also, the proliferation of blogs has endangered professional journalism and literacy itself. E-books are more credible, but sometimes when you find them, they’re not easily affordable or accessible (for piracy reasons).
Reading, for example, is without some powerful religious documents; The great belief systems of the world will not have a strong base. But because they are there and people have access to them, there is something called belief. If there is no evidence or answers for the religious enthusiast, these religions literally might not be worth it. You can’t know more than you read; Reading makes you aware. How is declining reading culture affecting Africa? Reading strengthens thinking and imagination. The pages of a book transport you to a place you’ve never been before, imbuing you with as much knowledge as if you knew the destination firsthand. Rather, it is a powerful tool for growth and social development, otherwise we would all wallow in ignorance.
Prof Ruqqayatu Rufai, Nigeria’s former education minister, says a reading nation is a developed nation and she couldn’t be more correct. A case in point for the power of knowledge are the lives and achievements of William Kamkwamba and Kelvin Doe-Africa’s child prodigies, whose innate engineering and knowledge through reading made them great. A more glaring effect of a low literacy culture is the lack of ideology in our institutions, as is evident in some African political parties and in the entertainment industry. As a result, there is inevitably a gross priority error. If our governing bodies and forms of entertainment lack ideals, then they are worthless because they equip and feed the masses with false information. The African mentality that knowledge comes with age is no excuse for declining readership in Africa. If there is no manual, then probably so many will use the refrigerator as a cabinet with a fancy tail.