Nobody in the world would contest the importance of technological innovations. The world is already highly tied down with technology that it is now believed that nobody can live outside and independent of technological outputs like the internet, wireless telephone lines, cell phones, computers and countless ramifications of hardware and software technologies at the disposal of mankind.
The history of technology unquestionably surpasses the written history of mankind and that of human civilization. Technology started with the first stone implements used by the Homo Sapiens. Today technology has made our planet a small village the residents of which are easily interacting instantly. However, technology has already attained the power to positively and negatively affect human behavior and cultural values
Although at a slower pace, Ethiopia is now exposed to modern technologies of all kinds. Although totally disconnected with modern technologies, Ethiopia’s timeless technological heritages, of ancient times show the extent to which technology has played a major role in partially shaping the history of this country from the obelisks and steles of Axum to Sevastopol and to the construction of GERD.
More than 60 million Ethiopians are carrying cell phones, tablets and all kinds of computer gadgets in their pockets and bags receiving and disseminating information and data around the world and here in Ethiopia. TV sets with satellite dishes have already become common household items even in the remotest part of the country.
In Ethiopia and the rest of the world, financial transactions are being processed through online computer programs that use ultramodern networking technologies. Online TV programs that present news and billions of information are already influencing the daily life of 100 million Ethiopians including children in preschools.
Modern computer and internet technologies have created an online global society communicating with no restrictions whatsoever. In Ethiopia in much the same scale as in the rest of the world, modern technological outputs have helped the society to engage in swift contacts saving their time, energy and to a certain extent their financial resources.
However, in Ethiopia, technological progress has seriously affected the physical-social cohesion and interaction between families and their kith and kin, friends and acquaintances in the sense of their face to face encounter and physical and emotional relationship. Even high Tec innovations like Skype, video chat and all other forms cannot compare with the traditional physical and personal meeting over a drink cup of traditional coffee ceremony.
Young people in Ethiopia are traditionally used to meeting each other on various occasions and exchange their views and emotions. These traditional values are now replaced by chats and discussions on facebook, WhatsApp loaded on cell phones. These brief exchanges of information has made them victims of online conspiracy and attempts to balkanize their own country capitalizing on the legitimate quest of the youth for change.
Most young persons in the country seem to be addicted to various programs on the internet on their cellphones and cannot do anything including basic addition and division, subtraction and multiplication heavily depending for numeracy on calculators on their cellphones.
In fact the use of the internet with thousands of programs is developing some kind of technological sub-culture in Ethiopia affecting the daily language we use. You can always hear the youth requesting for instance for a ‘missed call’ or ‘page it out’ or ‘see you online’ etc.
Technology has introduced a number of sub-cultures in Ethiopia including for instance Valentine ‘s Day, father’s day, mother’s day, water day and a number of celebration of ‘Days’. These are all western and alien days that are incompatible with the cultures of nations, nationalities and peoples of this country.
Due to the technological progress worldwide, youth in Ethiopia are trapped into a consumer xenophobia and cultural neo-colonialism under the guise of modernity and civilization thus despising or underrating goods of the same quality that are locally manufactured. This trend has also affected the capability of professionals in the country who are biased against commodities manufactured locally by indigenous entrepreneurs.
Blind subjugation to views, ideas and ideologies that do not tally with the normal public life has led some Ethiopian youth to copy views, ideas and philosophical beliefs under a smoke screen of the universality of knowledge, wisdom and world outlook.
Our scholars and leaders are always busy trying to benchmark on western academic, technological, administrative and development programs. This is basically fair and fine as long as it adds value to the development needs of the country but it requires the knowledge and wisdom on the pros and cons of western technological innovations. We need to prepare our own scales, checklists and standards and quality levels before we opt for any type of technology we adopt. The experts and scholars in this country have all the capacity and knowledge to at least make decisions on the choice of the right technology and we need to tap them.
One area of concern is access to appropriate technologies that are employed in different sectors of the Ethiopian economy. Over the last forty years, the Ethiopian ministry engaged in the development of agriculture or the now and then have been reporting and talking about the introduction of appropriate technologies to the Ethiopian farmers.
Indeed there where attempts to introduce these technologies to a number of model farmers but Ethiopia has a long way to travel before each farmer becomes the custodian of farmland based appropriate technologies and off farm technological innovations.
The proliferation of cultural neo-colonialism is functionally interrelated with the employment of technologies that fit into what some scholars call technological imperialism.
It might appear to be easy to talk or write about how technology affects our traditional cultural values and our cherished cultural heritages. Some of the challenges from technological developments are inevitable while some could be accepted at face value. But we need to solicit solutions for some of the negative trends.
Families and schools need to work together to collectively find out solutions for children who spend their whole evening in front of a TV set watching programs that are incompatible with their age. Excessive use of game software can easily detract children from focusing on their regular lessons.
Social and traditional cultural organizations need to come up with programs that can help the youth to blend their appreciation for technology with due respect and fondness for their cultural values and norms.
Technology undoubtedly makes life much easier but it could also be a trap; which is sometimes permanent. Inappropriate use of technological innovations can endanger social bonds and human intimacy that is highly cherished in Ethiopia. Persons involved in creative arts can use various means and ways in which the youth can appreciate the technological and cultural values that are locally and globally accepted.
Ethiopian sociologists and experts in social psychology can conduct extensive researches on the impact of the development of technology on the cultural values in Ethiopia and can come up with comprehensive and multi-faceted solutions in which the entire social fabric in the country can participate.