The first TV I remember at home was a small, black-and-white Japanese set, about 11 inches wide. I still can’t believe black-and-white TVs and chunky phones with aerials existed in my lifetime, even though I’m still fairly young. It’s amazing how quickly time has moved, and how vivid those memories remain.
That little TV had moods. Sometimes the picture would vanish or flicker. To fix it, you had to stand, twist the aerial, and ask the onlookers, ‘Injani ngoku?’ (How is it now?) If that didn’t work, three sharp claps on its ribcage usually did the trick, bringing the picture back to life.
At the time, we didn’t even have electricity in my village. Watching meant running it from my dad’s car battery or a petrol generator, which was so loud you had to move it far away just to hear the sound. After a football match or a favourite show, the battery was carefully unhooked or the generator switched off, saved for next time.
Because TV time was sacred, I was always too excited. I’d drag my little chair right in front of the screen, almost blocking everyone else’s view. My mother would always warn me, “Don’t sit too close to the TV, you’ll go blind.” Terrified of losing my sight, I’d shuffle back, only to creep forward again the next time.
I never checked whether science agreed with her, but I’ve come to see the truth in her words. Today, the TV isn’t just a box in the living room – it’s every screen we carry: phones, computers, tablets, and social feeds like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram. All these glowing screens blind us in a different way.
Sit too close, and you risk a kind of blindness that’s harder to notice. The danger isn’t just to your eyes but also to your mind. And worst of all, you might never notice that you’re blind. (Well, you’d be blind – how would you see?)
Why Screens Make You Blind
Before I dive in, let me clarify: I’m not judging anyone for using social media. Heck, by the end of this essay, you’ll even have the option to share it online. It would be hypocritical to puff my chest and claim, “Social media is wrong, and I’m right.”
That said, these screens have probably done more harm than we care to admit. Blaming users alone would be short-sighted. The endless features, notifications, and design tricks are meant to hook you – hook, line, and sinker – pulling you into a digital abyss. The people behind these apps don’t just want your time, they want your most valuable currency: your attention.
To keep it, they numb you with endless entertainment, provoke you with anger – because anger sells – and drain your funds with more subscriptions than you know what to do with.
And the biggest culprit of all? The algorithm. That mysterious force we all talk about but couldn’t explain even if a R10 million prize depended on it.
So, What Is the Algorithm?
At its core, an algorithm is a set of rules or instructions a computer follows to solve a problem or make decisions. On social media, it’s a mathematical system that analyses data – what you click, watch, pause, or scroll past, and uses that information to decide what content to show you next.
I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, what? That sounds complicated.” Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Most people tune out as soon as they hear ‘algorithm.’
Think of it like a friend who knows you so well they can guess what movie you want to watch, what snack you’ll pick, and which memes will make you laugh. They haven’t read your mind; they’ve just noticed patterns in your habits.
The algorithm works the same way. It doesn’t “know” you personally, but based on what you watch or like, it predicts what you’ll want next.
It’s like being in the ‘talking stage’ with someone new – that person is still figuring you out. The difference is, the algorithm never pauses. Each day it moulds itself closer to your “ideal partner,” without giving you the space to step back and ask whether you even like how things are going.
Every video, post, or ad it shows you is carefully chosen to grab your attention. The more you interact, the sharper its guesses become. Before you know it, you’re following a path paved by the algorithm… often without you even noticing.
Is It Wrong If the Algorithm Knows What I Like?
There’s nothing wrong with the algorithm knowing what you like, except that, to borrow my mother’s words, it can make you blind.
Because you consume what appeals to you, it’s easy to forget that your feed isn’t objective reality. The algorithm is simply a reflection of your preferences – a teaspoon from the vast ocean of the internet. But just because the taste in your teaspoon is sweet doesn’t mean the whole ocean is.
Most of what you see on these screens isn’t real life. It’s filtered, curated, and often fake. Chasing it won’t make you happier, because nobody is living as perfectly as they post.
The problem is that the algorithm makes you believe your feed represents what everyone else sees, when really you’re feasting mostly on content chosen by a few like-minded people. This creates echo chambers: groups that only hear ideas they already agree with, and in doing so, become closed off to the fact that all views are subjective.
I have an issue with this way of thinking because “cancel culture” – the idea that anyone who says something you don’t like must be silenced or punished – often grows out of these echo chambers. You might be in one right now, without realising it. This isn’t a knock on your character; it’s simply that most things you believe in are challengeable, not absolute truth.
So, is it bad that the algorithm knows what you like? Not always… but it often isn’t good. It keeps you in echo chambers, blinds you to reality, closes you off to differing views, and gives a false sense of certainty.
And then there’s the treadmill. The more attention you get, the more you want – until you’re running faster and faster just to stay in place. You might gain followers and engagement, but at the cost of yourself.
That’s the trap of a monetised existence – the influencer life, where you’re only as good as your last post. What once felt authentic becomes vanity metrics.
Soon, every thought and photo is shaped for the algorithm, not the truth. Some call this “algorithmic self-optimisation.” I call it emptiness – the personal brand replacing the person.
Social Media’s Darkest Side
Social media has also given rise to online ‘trolls’ who hide behind screens and attack others for having different views. In extreme cases, some even resort to violence.
Take the recent case in America where a young man allegedly killed Charlie Kirk at a college event simply because he disagreed with him. Kirk, a man whose favourite line was “let’s just have a conversation,” was silenced in the most brutal way.
Honestly, since when has radicalisation been a badge of honour for young people? Since when must we fight – and even kill – over whose opinion is ‘right,’ when the world has far bigger problems?
History has no blank pages. Show me a time when radicalisation led to anything good. Either we’re all suffering from amnesia, or we’re blind to the dangers these screens create, playing with fire.
Everyone has a right to stand for what they believe, whether you like it or not. Free speech is the bedrock of society. Wanting to cancel or silence others – if you’re part of that mob – makes you part of the problem. It’s proof that you think your opinion is superior to theirs… and you’re wrong.
It’s terrifying how these screens can strip away our empathy, pulling us into a world not far from Stalin’s Soviet Union, where people are afraid to speak and dialogue is replaced by fear.
Am I saying people should get away with being rude or offensive, no matter how many find it hurtful? Absolutely not. Actions have consequences, and facing them isn’t the same as cancel culture. What those consequences should look like, I can’t claim to know – but accountability matters.
Like most people, I don’t even enjoy writing about politics – but everything feels political nowadays. Does that mean we should all mute ourselves out of fear of backlash for stating the obvious? Must I hold back my thoughts simply because someone might disagree? And if we stop thinking and writing for ourselves, who is left to do it – the government?
Cancel culture – the online ganging-up on people we disagree with – often makes us feel like we’re doing the right thing. But really, it reveals how far we’ve lost perspective.
George Orwell’s 1984 warned about censorship and constant surveillance. With cancel culture and online scrutiny growing like this, the writing is on the wall: his warnings have never been more relevant.
Do I support any of this? Of course not. But we’ve brought it upon ourselves, distracted by screens that make us forget the simple joys: listening to birds harmonising, laughing with friends and family, and being grateful for how far we’ve come.
These are the real sights that teach us how to see… and they’re still free.
Don’t sit too close to the TV – whether it’s the black-and-white set we had in my house or the glowing screen in your hand. Look up. Listen. Laugh. Be present. Reclaim the things screens can’t give you. Otherwise, you may never notice that you’re blind.
© Phumzile