Mary Remmy Njoku, Nollywood actress and film producer, has expressed concern about the way social media is being used in Nigeria, saying painful realities are now being turned into “content” for entertainment and clout.
In a post she shared on Instagram, Njoku stated that social media users in the country often record and upload situations that involve death, street fights, and even the tears of a child, treating them as though they are just ordinary videos for likes and shares.
She warned that once victims are turned into content, they stop being seen as human beings and are only viewed as materials for clout. Njoku questioned the direction society is heading, writing:
“What exactly are we turning into?”
The actress explained that social media across the world has been used as a force for positive change, to unite people, expose injustice, and inspire nation-building. However, she lamented that in Nigeria, it is increasingly being consumed by clout-chasing, where pain is broadcast as entertainment and suffering is packaged like comedy skits.
READ ALSO, I’m From a Lineage of Strong Women- Priscilla Ojo Shares Postpartum Experience
According to her, sometimes she chooses to completely log off social media in order to focus on real-life problems and connect with real people.
She wrote, “Social media should be a powerful tool. Around the world, it has been used to rewrite narratives, to expose injustice, to amplify activism, to spark nation-building. It has united communities, toppled corrupt systems, and given a voice to the voiceless. But here at home, we seem to be using it differently. For us, the hunger for clout, for virality, for instant fame has started to cloud our humanity. It has drowned out empathy.
“Sometimes I open my feed and all I see is noise. Pain broadcast like entertainment. Suffering packaged as skits. I find myself logging off, choosing instead to face my real world. To solve real problems, with real people, in real time.
“Because what are we becoming, if every tragedy must first become a trending video? What are we becoming, if every cry is just background noise for someone else’s content calendar?
“We must pause. We must breathe. We must search inside for the human we are at risk of losing.
“Before you type, before you record, before you upload, STOP. Please STOP and ask yourself: Am I amplifying humanity, or am I stripping it away?
“We are still human in this country… aren’t we?”
Njoku ended her message by calling on Nigerians to reflect before posting or recording online, stressing the need to amplify humanity rather than destroy it for clout.
