True Societal Growth Begins With the Innovation of the Mind

/ Victor Ojei

In response to my article “Has Modern Society Made Humans Smarter or More Ignorant? Read more” someone raised a concern about how his son who used to love reading books and magazines, as well as any radio or tv channels that put out educational contents, like national geographic, and nat geo wild, suddenly stopped reading books or magazines since he got a smartphone. And even stay up late at night sometimes busy with his phone.

This matter in particular is a very complex one. I personally don’t have issue with a smartphone, that will make me an hypocrite. I love innovation. Technology is meant to make life easier, though it come with a lot of challenges. However, the issue that arises with the integration of technology isn’t in technology in itself, but the flaws in humans.

Perhaps, maybe modern society is only exposing the truth about the human nature if left unchecked. Rather than completely writing off the integration of technology, and standing against innovation, we should focus on what truly matters: the constant innovation of the mind through, ethical values, introspection, acquisition of knowledge, discipline, spirituality, courtesy, virtue, love, empathy.

When one gives a smartphone to their child, one isn’t giving their child access to the world, rather one is giving the world access to their child. A smartphone can add greater value to the child, as well as influence them, either positively or negatively. There are a lot one could do with a smartphone. I mean, one literally hold an entire library in the palm of their hands. So the question is, what does one do with their smartphone?

In most African cultures, it takes the whole community to raise a child. Children are traditionally taught to respect anyone older than them, because there is always something to learn from them. Where am I driving at with this? The matter raised concerning the effects of a smartphone on a child, at its core, points to the decay in societal values.

The truth is, we can restrict and control the kind of content that is allowed on the internet all we want, but it wouldn’t help very much. You know why? Because the internet isn’t the problem, people are. If you need a law to compel you into doing the right thing, before you actually do it, maybe you’re not really a good person after all.

©️Victor E. Ojei, 2025.

19 thoughts on “True Societal Growth Begins With the Innovation of the Mind”

    • You are not too far from the truth. The thing is, there have always been laws. The only difference is, most of these laws were unwritten, imbibed in culture, like in the African culture, which is then passed down to the next generation. Discipline, virtue, courtesy, empathy, is simply a way of life.

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  2. I did a presentation to a school board I was applying for a senior teachers role for around 20 years ago, called Mobile Phones: friend or foe? It was a disaster. They were completely against any technology beyond fixed computers and couldn’t see that they had enormous future potential. Yes, they need policing, yes they need regulation, and filters, but when used well they are so powerful.

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    • You are right sir. And here we are 20 years later, what do you think their stance is? The truth is, when it comes to innovation, no matter how good, there will still be the human problem.
      In my opinion, policing may help, but it wouldn’t do any better than it already did. The aim should be for less policing, through fostering a community built around virtue, love, empathy, discipline, ethical values.

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  4. Totally agree. The phone isn’t the real problem, it’s how we use it. If we guide kids with the right values, a smartphone can actually be a powerful tool, not a distraction.

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    • True Daisy. Like in the African culture, there’s only so much parents can do, the parenting of children is a community job, everyone is involved. Kids in their early stages pickup anything they see, touch, taste, hear, feel, which will later influence the rest of their lives. These only means, most of what they are, is learnt from their surroundings. When you give your kid a smartphone, you are not giving your kid access to the world, rather, you are giving the world access to your kid.
      So the question now is, how do we work together as a people to foster a community built upon ethical values, and love, from which the next generation will learn from?

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      • Exactly! Kids are like sponges, they soak up everything around them. That’s why it’s so important we build a community that reflects the kind of values we want them to grow up with. It’s not just about controlling tech, it’s about setting examples in real life too. It really does take a village.

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  5. Thank you for sharing. Traveling back to the city now to return him to school. This piece adds a better perspective to approach the challenges that come with technology and the big thing is our flawed nature.

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    • I am glad I could help. Kids are stressful to manage sometimes, but they could be easy when you have come to understand them.
      There’s this thing with humans, even more so, kids: they are more attracted to the things you ask them not to do, because that’s what they are focused on. Rather than telling them what not to do, you tell them what to do. For example, if you keep telling your kid not to litter the floor, they will most likely always litter the floor. Instead, you tell them to always trash the wastes in the bin, return their toys to the toy box etc.
      So, if you want your son to spend less time on his smartphone, just ask him to do the things with greater impact you love for him to do. Get him more book to read, he should engage in more physical activities. This automatically gives him less time for a smartphone, and also influences the kind of activities he will be interested in on a smartphone.

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      • He’s a basketball player, and the more time on the court, the less screen time and the earlier he sleeps. I didn’t buy him a ball this holiday, but when it is there, it’s part of the solution. I encouraged, him though to go to bed by eleven, with sound reasons conversationally and they have adhered in my absence. And I also gave him pocket money to travel to municipal court, which he had become lazy to walk to, complaining of distance. There’s a way out.

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