Social Media and the Future of Our Youth: From Political Noise to Nation Building
Redirecting the Energy of Oromo Youth Toward Knowledge, Innovation, and Productive Enterprise
By Hailu Gonfa
We are living in an era of rapid technological advancement and unprecedented access to information. The world today rewards those who acquire knowledge, generate innovation, and solve societal problems. This great opportunity lies within our hands. But the critical question remains: How are our young people utilizing this opportunity?
Today, the majority of our youth spend a significant portion of their time on social media. However, much of this time is consumed by political bickering, personal attacks, factional support, and endless debates—rather than education, research, innovation, business, or skill development. This misdirection of energy is draining the intellectual potential of our young people, channeling it toward unproductive activities that build nothing and solve nothing.
Learning from Global Examples: Youth Who Built Empires
The world offers powerful examples of young people who transformed simple ideas into global enterprises.
Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook from a simple idea in his university dormitory. Today, Meta provides employment, education, and business opportunities for millions of young people worldwide.
Jack Dorsey created Twitter (now X) from a simple concept of short messages. Today, it has revolutionized global communication and information sharing.
In Africa, young Kenyans like Brian Mwenda and others have used platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to share knowledge, history, and skills—earning livelihoods in the process. Many Nigerian youths have built successful careers by teaching technology, programming, and online business on YouTube.
These examples demonstrate one powerful truth: Social media is not inherently harmful. Its value depends entirely on how we use it.
Social Media: A Tool, Not a Master
Social media is not the enemy. It is a tool. The same platform that can be used to waste time can also be used to:
- Acquire knowledge
- Create employment
- Grow businesses
- Learn new skills
- Connect with the world
- Share experiences and innovations
The problem is not with the platform. The problem is with the pattern of use.
One person uses social media to build a global enterprise. Another uses it to engage in endless political arguments. The difference is not in the platform—it is in the mindset.
What Our Youth Should Be Doing
The youth of today must invest their time in activities that build their future and the future of their nation:
- Generating new ideas — Thinking creatively and solving problems.
- Learning technology — Acquiring skills in coding, programming, and digital tools.
- Conducting research — Exploring knowledge and contributing to understanding.
- Learning new languages — Opening doors to global opportunities.
- Creating innovations — Developing products, services, and solutions.
- Sharing experiences — Building networks and learning from others.
Around the world, young people are doing exactly this. They are building businesses from social media, founding startups, and creating technological solutions to their communities’ problems.
Why not us?
A Vision for Oromo Youth: Building, Not Bickering
Our youth should transform social media into:
- A classroom — Where they learn and share knowledge.
- A laboratory — Where they conduct research and develop ideas.
- A marketplace — Where they create businesses and generate income.
- A platform for innovation — Where they showcase their creativity.
- A space for collaboration — Where they work together to solve problems.
- A forum for solutions — Where they discuss and develop answers to societal challenges.
Politics is a legitimate and important sphere of engagement. Young people should not be absent from political discourse. But their political participation should be grounded in:
- Ideas and evidence — Not personal attacks.
- Solutions and proposals — Not endless criticism.
- Respectful dialogue — Not hatred and division.
- Constructive engagement — Not destructive confrontation.
A young person’s political role is to strengthen peace, advance democracy, participate in respectful discourse, and contribute solutions for nation-building.
The Danger of Unproductive Engagement
Today, a small number of individuals often post provocative content that stirs thousands of young people into unproductive arguments. Our youth must not give their precious time to serve as experimental subjects for others’ agendas.
The minds of our youth were created for innovation, research, and productive work—not for endless conflict and personal attacks.
When young people waste their time on political noise, they are not only losing their own potential; they are also undermining the future of their nation.
The Future Depends on Our Youth
The destiny of any nation is determined by the skills, knowledge, and creativity of its young people.
- If our youth acquire knowledge, develop skills, create innovations, build businesses, and solve problems, Ethiopia’s future will be strong.
- If they waste all their time on endless, unproductive political conflicts, the opportunity of their generation—and their nation—will be lost.
This is the choice before us.
A Call to Action
What I am saying is simple: Social media is not a battlefield; it is a building ground.
To build a nation, our youth must:
- Invest their time in knowledge, not noise.
- Turn social media into a classroom, not a boxing ring.
- Share experiences, not insults.
- Create businesses, not divisions.
- Solve problems, not create them.
If they do this, social media will cease to be a space for conflict and become a foundation for a generation of informed, innovative, and productive citizens.
Learn coding. Learn technology. Learn languages. Learn business. Learn skills. Build something. Solve something.
Do not waste your time on endless political arguments that produce no income, no knowledge, and no future.
A Final Word
The youth who invest their time in building their minds will build their future. The youth who invest their time in political noise will give their future away to others.
Your time is precious. Your potential is immense. Your nation needs your mind, not just your voice.
Let us build. Let us innovate. Let us create.
The future is ours to build—if we choose to build it.
Injifannoon Ummata Oromoo!
Dargaggootni Oromoo haa jabaatan!
Beekumsi fi kalaqni haa jabaattu!
This feature article is based on the reflections of Hailu Gonfa and is dedicated to all Oromo youth who are choosing to build their future through knowledge, innovation, and productive enterprise.
Advocacy for Oromia 