Dear Editor,

The polarisation of the Internet and social networks has provided substantial evidence that there is an urgent need to promote social media information literacy — the acquaintance, adoption, and productive use of social media technology in any given setting — among our population.

Over the years we have witnessed a gradual decline of analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills, due in part to the amount of time people spend on social media platforms. In fact, literature — one of the disciplines upon which we have traditionally relied to build critical thinking — has been under severe threat at the university level. Around the world, many universities either have completely scrapped their English literature programmes or shut down their humanities faculties. Even at the infamous Canterbury Christ Church University in Great British, a decision was made to ditch English literature degrees come September 2025 because they are no longer viable in this current climate. Canterbury has had a rich literary heritage, with the sitting being the setting for Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and birthplace of literary icons such as Christopher Marlowe and Aphra Behn.

But even in Jamaica, we have equally been witnessing a decline in courses in the humanities, while there has been an uptick in computer science and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related courses.

Is it now time for faculties within humanities and social sciences to repurpose their offerings? Certainly!

With social media playing a critical role in our daily activities and operations, people need to understand the advantages, disadvantages, and risks that accompany it. One would think these are very obvious, but every day we come across something on different social media networks that cause us to wonder if people know how to use the Internet safely and for their own safety.

Recently the local TikTok community was plunged into mourning over the death of Xavier Fogah, who was a famous personality on the platform. Fogah was killed while he was on a live session. Shortly before the tragic incident, Fogah was involved in a
TikTok match in which users co-host with other creators in real time. He and his co-host were trading barbs about badness and their ability to locate each other and do harm.

The incident has promoted the police to encourage citizens to avoid posting personal information online which can inadvertently expose people to harm.

However, we also saw where social media helped to spare the lives of some gunmen who went on a mission a few days ago to rob a supermarket in Spalding, Clarendon. After a stand-off with the police, which led to some injuries, the men realised that their fate would be either a judge or their maker. They chose the former and went live via social media, showing their injuries and pleading with the police as they surrendered.

One can argue whether it is social media itself that is bad or the misuse of it to engage in cyberbullying, scamming, identity theft, blackmailing, or other manipulative practices to one’s advantage?

We live in an era that is defined by heavy social media usage and artificial intelligence. We have seen how social media trends have gone viral — both positive and negative ones. Social media has also influenced how we communicate, interact, the places we go for vacation, the clothes we buy, the restaurants at which we eat, and the events we attend, among many other things.

Our young people are particularly influenced by social media and so we must push for social media literacy to help save some of them. Outside of social media management and marketing degrees, there is an opportunity for universities to repurpose some of their curricula to focus on crucial phenomena that have been defining the era.

Oneil Madden

maddenoniel@yahoo.com