African youth: face the book instead of facebooking

By Caleb Mutua

African reading culture has generated a lot of discussion and in most cases the conclusions are always unfortunate: Africans have a poor reading culture. Now with continuous flow of images and information in the internet, the situation is not likely to get any better. Social networks are fast replacing books as the new and fashionable way of reading and telling short stories.

In the world, Africa is seen in rather unflattering terms and many Africans can hardly access good books. The 2010 Caine Prize shortlisted author, Dr. Lily Mabura, argues that Kenyans love reading but “economic hardships in the developing world” have redefined their priorities. Even in countries with significant book trade like Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria, good books are hard to come by.

But some of us can access books, good books. Do we really have a good reading culture?

Mr. Edmond Gatwiri is a student at Kenyatta University (KU) and a Facebook addict. He has twoFacebook accounts and other accounts on Twitter, hi5, Badoo and 2go. He updates these accounts every day and despite having a well-equipped library in the campus, the last books he finished reading were literature set books back in secondary school. Gatwiri says that despite many social ills associated with social networks, stories and gossip he read when Facebooking are more interesting and up to date compared to story books.

Grace Amondi, an electrical engineering student at a local college in Nairobi hardly finishes reading books because of “lack of time.” Amondi updates her Facebook account hourly on average. “It is funny that I have time to gossip on my wall and share photos with friends via my smartphone but I cannot finish a novel I started reading two months ago.”

Social media are dominating not only in learning institutions but also in workplaces. Secretaries and bosses video chat with their colleagues and friends during work hours. “ My boss is not a tech savvy so I hide my Twitter account when he’s passing or near my desk,” admits Felix Ngare, an IT expert from Nairobi.

These candid admissions point to the fact that many youths subscribe to social networks to seek relief from boredom or routine activities in their work stations but even more importantly, to relax their minds when faced with ‘sensory overload’. They emphasize that the stories and gossip in these social sites are simply earth-shattering.

The advent of smartphones has amplified the youth’s alienation and impoverishment of emotions. Many people who used to read books in matatu and busses now chat on their smartphones, alienating themselves from personal experience and reality. Although these new media may  appear to help its victims overcome loneliness and boredom, they impair individuals’ capacity for any meaningful experience once it becomes a habit.

A professor of literature at the University of Nairobi, Chris Wanjala, points out that young literature critics think that older African writers have reached their ‘menopause’ because they write old stuff or stories related to their ethnic background.

But authors of short stories and novels will hear none of these. Mr. Patrick Wafula is a short story author and a haiku poet. He argues that the author’s experience provides a rich source of story ideas and therefore older authors are right when they write old staff.

“Dale Carnegie, T.D Jakes and Joyce Meyer books inspire me a lot,” explains ms. Beatrice Oduor, a customer relations officer at Wyccoon Consultancy and Nultimedia Limited. “I would love to read many books but I spend a lot of time on Facebook. I sometimes burn the midnight oil chatting with my friends abroad.” She believes that African youth prefer foreign authors and the youths would read more if African authors wrote more stories that are relevant to them.

All is not lost. The director of Utafiti Centre for Research and Technology and part-time lecturer at the University of Nairobi, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Mr. Sam Mwangi loves reading books. Over the years, he has collected many interesting books that he lends to anyone who has a passion for reading books. “When everything and everyone turns against me, even when there is power blackout, I light a candle and read books,” Mr Mwangi said. He advises that the African youth don’t have to be resource-secure for them to read books. Instead, they should read to be resource-secure.

Stephen Mureithi is a young entrepreneur who kills boredom by reading books at his dairy shop in Soweto Slum. ”I consider books like the Petals of Blood and a Man of the People a repository of African culture,” Mureithi explains. “They not only entertain with their creatively written stories but also inform me about African beliefs, traditions and even taboos.”

New technology enables people to store and read books on their laptops, tablet computers, iPads and iPhones “The African youth have a better opportunity to improve their reading culture by utilizing ebooks and sharing them with their friends through social networks,” says Ms. Carol Kyalo, an admistrator at UoN.

Like many other authors, Mr. Wafula is utilizing the new technology to reach the youth by selling his books like From Darkness to Light on Amazon.com and through his blog.

First published in March 2012.