SOCIAL media is the popular platform without barriers where people meet to share their interests, express their views and find solutions to any particular matter. Families, friends, business and people with common interests find themselves connected.
Some of the popular groups are offering therapy as solutions to spiritual, marital, sexual and many other human issues. While social media has worked well to some subscribers, some has been unfortunate to find the dark side of it.
Social media marital and sex counsellors have the largest followings among the groups administered by Zambians and others. It is important to learn about how effective are these groups to heal broken marriages and provide sex education? Some these groups do not have any code of conduct apart from what the admins themselves to judge things according to their views. Can someone find genuine help from the social media counsellors? These questions will be answered by readers who decided to share their views.
My view is that it is both helpful and harmful of not taken with caution. This is because some admins running some of these groups may not be well trained to handle some of the challenges especially when it comes to marriages. It is possible for one to be misled over marriage issues. This may include subjective views that may not be very helpful. – Amos Kasongo Mumba, Solwezi.
Social media with its vast number of people online and from diverse parts of the world, it is far beyond plausible that or for one can find help on social media. Honest help can be found from many official and registered pages of counsellors on social media but it cannot go without saying dishonest help cannot be found on social media. Every help given will again depend on the person in need of the help to either take the help or not. Social media can even be a better platform than queuing by to a therapist/physician and yet only to be given a date when to come when the help is needed there and now and considering that social media can provide this help even at a faster pace. So, in conclusion, I strongly agree and second, that help can to found on social media be it to heal broken marriages and provide sex education. – Alfred Phiri, Lusaka
Yes, social media counselling is indeed even becoming the only healthy way nowadays because social media has really gone overboard, with every kind of happening or item being found on social media. Be it WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn have specific attached groups which are quite helpful on marital and sex education. However, for a person to weigh where his/her bread is quoted more, one has to have a bearing on the kind of advice his getting. Some advice on social media don’t subscribe to ones’ empathy but are rather just analysis based on personal experience. They are usually not much attention paid to one’s issue because of the negative and positive comments which in the end leave the complainant even much more confused. – Victor Munakombwe, Ndola.
Oh yes, people who present problems of. These problems will get comments both positive and negative pertaining to their situation… I would like to presume that the person in need would like to get an objective view of things and since this advise comes mostly from the followers of the page or group they have likely shared the problem on, they will get different views helping them tackle or see the problem from multiple points. That’s my opinion. – Marvin Fingures
Your articles are well articulated and educative full of things which are around us, touching and an eye-opener to issues of technology. I have been following you since you started this program and I personally learnt a lot because the articles are so inspiring and motivating which makes me eager to see the next one because of the content. Bro, it’s your passion please keep it up why I have said so is that the way you come as if it’s not you but Google phrased or computer writing on its own. But to check the author it’s himself Ali Mwila Kingston Ali. Big up buddy. – Humphrey Chansa, Kitwe
Social media counsellors have adjusted to ICT changes of nowadays. The modern-day Tech detects that if you are not on social media you are missing out. Social media counsellors are good as information can be disseminated easily to those who have emotional or marital problems in their homes. It creates a third opinion when you cannot think clearly when the mind is unclear. A stranger offers better opinions than the person you know.
Social media counsellor among other things is here on social media to stay. If it is helping people, I believe it should be encouraged. David Munthali Lusaka
The answer is yes and no: – Such platforms may only provide a partial solution or partial relief. A problem shared is a problem half solved. Just the act of sharing a problem gives some sense of relief and lessens the inner feeling of tension.
– Some information might be misleading and have a bias towards what the author believes in. So many copied and pasted articles are sometimes used as a reference without critically analyzing what the author was driving at. Some of such articles may be targeted at marketing or killing the market of certain products.
– Some of the counsellors may not have enough experience to advise on issues brought before them. They may be relying on what they have heard or read. The component of empathy is usually missing. The counsel will be so dry without getting into the shoes of the people they are counselling.
– Some people may go into a more depressive mode due to failure to comprehend to some negative comments being passed by followers of one particular post.
– Security issues: Some people may expose themselves to unscrupulous elements. Their private information may be left in the hands of criminal minds that may use it for the advancement of their criminal activities.
– The deceit that is associated with social platforms: Most people come out as rich, highly learned with good jobs and well paid, in happy marriages, and with children that are geniuses. That makes the person being counselled to hold the counsellor in high esteem. Disaster strikes when they meet the counsellor in person. If the picture the counsellor portrayed is not what they are in real life, the client might get demoralized and disregard the counsel they had previously received.
– Motive: Sometimes the motive of some counsellors is not to help people but to just get some likes on their posts. Therefore, they may not call a spade a spade sometimes to avoid losing their popularity. They will always try to impress their clients by telling them what they want to hear. Purely riding on manipulation and human psychology.
– There are cases that just require a one on one contact in order to get adequate details about the problem. So, that points to some cyberspace’s inadequacies and limits.
– Sometimes the counsellor does not get feedback from the client.
– Sometimes the client might not get the remedy to their problem due to multiple comments that may dilute the counsel of the counsellor. – Clive Mulenga, Kasama

The author is an ICT Consultant, GDip SE. BSc IT. Dip IT. Adv Dip.PM. ITIL. CFIP.

For comments, suggestion, questions email kingstonmwila@gmail.com, WhatsApp +260977689574, +260955689574, Like the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ictmatters
withkingstonalimwila

For more stories visit: www.timesepaper.com