Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, Whatsapp, an armada of platforms with the common pillar information and the dissemination of content. New essential tool in the information sector, these same social networks are of capital importance in African countries in recent years. Not derogating from the rule, their target heart is very young.
Having become essential for the dissemination of information, the use of digital technology is legitimized by the quest for new niches of audiences. A new journalism that advances where other media renounces, penetrating remote areas such as small Senegalese or Cameroonian villages. Tweet Africa, Scroll on Instagram, publishes on Facebook. It is also in this African setting that the Tik Tok phenomenon is deployed.
Social networks, the new weapon of African youth
Tik Tok lists 450,000 users over the age of 18. Having become a reflex in school lessons, it is with minors that the social network is however the most present. The hypnotic format of the application storms the “generation z”. Endless scrolling, a perceptive algorithm, fast information nuggets captivate African youth.
A boon for journalists who reach a wider audience, allowing African adolescents to remain informed and to engage in a constructive dialogue. A novelty in terms of information consumption illustrated by 3.05 million Senegalese using social media to follow the news, or 17.4 % of the total population of Senegal in 2023 S Elon Datareportal .
Simon Kemp
A modern way of consuming information
The explosion of social media extends to other African countries as in Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon and Cameroon. In the African center-east 65.2 % of people interviewed by Africascope are registered on Facebook, against 69.9 % present on WhatsApp, who still widens the gap with the Meta giant. WhatsApp is enjoying growing success by making it possible to bypass certain government restrictions while ensuring access to information. In June, Senegal points to Tiktok and suspends the application considered as a threat to the country's stability. This is not the first time that African states have legislated the access or use of social networks.
These prohibitions do not divert social networks from their supremacy in terms of communication tools. In 2005, their appearance marked the start of the turn of the media to digital journalism. The year 2023 thus has a feeling of "already seen" with the emergence of artificial intelligence. Should we fear a surge of false information, risk of fraud, disinformation? The future will say what kind of assistant artificial intelligence will be to journalists.
