SHEPHERD MPOFU'S FACEBOOK RANTS: A CASE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A THREAT FOR KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

As a relatively new media, social media has been fairly researched by scholars emanating from Media and Communication Studies, Political Science, Public Administration and Sociology, just to mention a few. A considerable effort has been invested by these scholars to explore the dynamics and implications of social media. But the understanding of this phenomenon remains uncommon; yet most of the contributors to this discourse operate from Euro-American consciousness - which does not accurately capture the essence of African reality. Based on qualitative materials and Afrocentricity, this paper concedes that generally social media births casual social relations. But it argues that its unguarded nature as reflected in Mpofu's rants constitute an imminent threat to knowledge development in South Africa.

Keywords

• Facebook
• social media
• knowledge
• development
• South Africa

Project Number

N/A

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