Our World is sick - 5 things wrong in our society today. 10% to @steemalive"
[A painting by Berrin Duma. Photo: turkishpaintings.com]
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
King James Version (KJV) Genesis 1:26
We're in the business of inspiration, but it's not often we find ourselves inspired to tell our story.
Sadly, the world that we live in and love, that we share, that we have worked so hard to create, is very, very sick.
We've made our world sick, by our little actions. Not because we're sick people, but because we've allowed ourselves to be influenced by the negativities around us.
Love, compassion, empathy, peace, and equanimity are our natural ways of life. But the power structure currently in place was built upon a foundation of fear, manipulation, and selfishness.
Out of greed, we have developed an egoistic society where we constantly care only for ourselves, even when doing so harms others, and we have normalized this. This is not our natural existence which is altruistic, and interdependent.
Bribery
During my time at the university, I witnessed the evils of bribery first-hand. How the educational system has developed an intricate system of collecting from those who have very little.
As a former victim of this insidious act, bribery has many different shapes as well as many various effects, in the society at large.
Bribery - Wikipedia
In Nigeria's educational system, bribery deprives those who merit a score just to satisfy those who have the money to sort it out.
Bribery bordering on extortion is evil and insidious must be opposed at every turn. It undermines morality, fairness, equity, and justice. And in the long run, this act inhibits economic growth and affects business operations, employment and investments.
The most common causes of bribery are the political and economic environment, professional ethics and morality, as well as greedy habits, customs, traditions, and demography.
Drug Abuse
Trippy high- Source: Baklol
Growing up in Nigeria as a young man, it is now quite normal to encounter or be enticed to abuse drugs. Although accurate statistics may not be available, at least 8 to 10 youth will experience, be coerced to, or abuse hard drugs.
Most drug abuse incidents in Africa are directly linked to peer pressure, in addition to trying to escape the reality and pressure from our society.
In today's society, much undue stress is laid on competition, and some who can’t bear this stress take to drugs.
Drug abuse is mainly seen among the younger population who are too desperate to get out of the situation confronted by them or the surroundings they live in.
It is quite difficult for anybody who was once used to drugs cannot come out of the habit. This leads to drug addiction, and it becomes impossible to pass a day without taking the dose.
A person addicted to drugs usually becomes so accustomed to it that without it he or she feels lifeless.
Drug addicts are not only harming themselves but their families and also society. As individuals, it is important for us to keep a watchful eye on the people who sell drugs and strict legal actions should be taken against them.
There are many kinds of drugs, but basically, the harmful ones are narcotic drugs.
Symptoms of drug abuse may differ based on the amount taken and for how long it was consumed. Drug abuse signs may not show on some kind of drugs in the early stage, and may not even be identifiable because it may mimic normal behavior.
Common signs of drug abuse are irrational behavior, needle prick marks on the arms, or recurrent nose sores in those who use snort drugs.
People addicted to drugs should be sent to a rehabilitation center as soon as possible before it becomes too late.
Addicted to technology
We are all more or less guilty of this addiction, the impulse to check our feed and notification for just a few minutes, only to find ourselves still scrolling an hour later.
Smartphones and social media are useful tools, but they’re very addictive. Pull-to-refresh is addictive. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Thrill, Youtube are all addictive.
The urge for liking and scrolling social media doesn't just happen by accident, these apps designers actually intended it that way.
Netflix, Instagram, and Youtube autoplay feature immediately the next episode of my favorite movie with giving me the choice to do so yourself. In that way, they're subtly forcing their content down my throat without my knowledge. When I realize this, I've already watched hours and hours of videos.
Image source: Netflix
Several times, I have caught myself looking at my Facebook, liking, and scrolling without even paying attention to the content.
Most technological products are not necessarily evil, however, sometimes things created with the best of intentions end up having unintended negative consequences.
Initially, technology companies may not have made their products addictive on purpose, but as the incentive to grow revenue from advertising increases, experimenting with different techniques to capture people's attention also increases. Re-integrating these techniques, into a product results in a highly effective product design.
Since it is proven that social Media often function as a drug in the brain, a recent study shows that Google, Twitter, and Facebook employees who helped make their products so addictive are now staying away from their products. Ironically, the late rapper Biggie Smalls, words ring true today "don't get high on your supply."
"don't get high on your supply."
-- Biggie Smalls
Image source: Whisper.sh
People addicted to technology are losing the ability to interact properly with other humans, a skill once considered as the pillar that makes a modern society function.
Also, excessive technology use impacts mental health and development negatively, especially among children, adolescents, and young adults.
When addicts are deprived of their smartphones, they realize the difficulties in listening, talking, and negotiating with their fellow humans.
Misplaced priorities
For a lot of us, we lose sight of what our priorities are over a while due to several factors. And the singular root cause of misplaced priorities is materialism and distraction.
[Image created with PixelLab]
As a man of Christian faith, I understand that material things are not necessarily evil, for instance, having a good car or a comfortable house isn't a bad thing, but when we start to put our trust in those things, then we've missed our stop.
The good book states clearly that "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy". (1 Tim 6:18).
In Matthew 6, Jesus Christ explained to us the dangers of materialism. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is so your heart will be also". (v. 19-21)
In times like this, it is already difficult to do the essential things in the long run without wasting the time on other things that don't matter.
Spending time on unimportant things will cause us to continually delay the things that are of greater importance, which in turn results in unwanted delays.
Personally, I sometimes take the time and energy meant for a good endeavor, and channel it into something else that will do little or no good for my general welfare, like chatting, playing games, flitting about, and social media browsing. This often leads to regrets.
Distraction is another major cause of misplaced priority, and it is often difficult to overcome until conscious discipline is applied.
Avoid getting distracted by things that have nothing to do with your goals because no one can achieve big things if they're being distracted by small, unnecessary things.
In a similar vein, misplaced priority usually results in procrastinating real priorities. The moment an individual begins to misplace priorities, indirectly shift your real priorities without you even realizing it.
Deceptive advertising
According to Wikipedia, deceptive advertising is any statement by an advertiser that is false or misleading, or that does not adequately identify itself as an advertisement.
When an advert conveys to consumers false or misleading information such as;
- Price of a product
- Quantity of a product
- The quality or standard of the item
- Times, dates, and locations that the product is available
- Information regarding warranties
- False facts regarding deals or sales
-Confusion over interest rates or other factors
Without mincing words, deceptive advertising can ruin your business, by violating the trust of consumers. In many cases, such advertisements are illegal.
A clear case of deceptive advertising happened to me recently, my company recently engaged a third-party advertising company that claimed a 30% increase in revenue guaranteed.
After seeing the advert, and signing up, I set up the codes for the advert. In less than a week, my company had a 70,000 impression without any corresponding revenue.
When we queried the advert company, at the end of the day, it turned out to be another deceptive advertising.
Conclusion
This world we live in, where we spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is sick. Therefore, we should do everything we can do to make the world better. There are important questions each one of us needs to ask ourselves.
- What is happening?
- How can we stop it?
- How can we make it better?
- What can I do?
Nevertheless, we should not despair, nor should we let the negativities of our sick world ruin our positive mindset.
I hope the world gets better, because I live in it, and so do the people I care about. Let’s try our best to make the world a little better every day.
We have a purpose.
Take a look at the world. Those thrown out in the world due to drug abuse, unfair treatment, injustice, corrupt financial system, we should strive to give them purpose, hand in hand.
Special thanks @focusnow @beautybb and @steemalive community
#sickworld #nigeria #steemalive
Wow oooo, what a wonderful write up, well detailed post, my dear the level of corruption in our country alone, will tell u how sick our world is, worst of it all is that all the points u made here that are causing the ill health of our world is negatively increasing day by day, is only God that can help us in this life. Thanks @ekenelionel for sharing this important post,it is an eye opener to all of us, about the world we are into.
Thank you too for taking the time to read my article.
Our sick world can only be corrected by people. I think if we start thinking and acting positively, the world can gradually be healed.
True. Very correct.
We have supported this post. Keep on making great content in our community. Always check @steemalive for community updates. Thank you being an active member.
Thank you too.
Hola, buenas imágenes de publicidad engañosa, que realmente hablan...
Very impressive write-up bro..keep
It up, your post is totally awesome and encouraging, atleast i learnt it's good to abstain from evil activities because it can lead you to anywhere. Thanks so much
Hello, you're right that our world is sick morally, socially and otherwise, but then, i think the remedy to these maladies lies in God's hands via his heavenly government. However, thanks for sharing.