Social media helping people express themselves

You won't hear people talk about sex, male infertility, rape, homosexuality, and miscarriages in public spaces. It's not just the Nigerian way.

Social media is changing all that. People are freely talking about topics that were considered off limits in public discourse.

One of such Nigerians is a woman known as @phroetiq on Twitter. A month ago she and her husband lost their baby. She had a miscarriage.

On Saturday, September 9, 2017, @phroetiq spoke about her miscarriage on Twitter.

"A month ago yesterday, @theekuda and I lost what would have been our first child. This is really difficult to talk about but I will anyway" she tweeted.

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In her Twitter thread, she said she is speaking up about her loss because she wanted her baby's death to mean something. Secondly, she is doing this because people in Nigeria do not speak about miscarriages.

You can read her Twitter thread below;

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Without social media, @phroetiq wouldn't have probably spoken up about her loss. A lot of Nigerian women and men use social media to speak up about personal issues that are traditionally considered off-topic.

This also includes domestic violence. Within the space of a year, we have seen top female Nigerian celebrities reveal that they have been in abusive relationships.

It's not only the famous women who get the headlines. We have heard domestic violence stories from everyday Nigerian women. Through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, these women tell their stories of emotional and physical pain.

Even men who have been victims of domestic abuse are using social media to speak up. A decade ago it would have been unthinkable for a Nigerian man to confess that he is a victim of domestic abuse but these days are different.

The older generation might think social media is just fun and games but for the new generation it is an avenue to vent, rant and speak up about issues hardly mentioned in public.

Tweeting, posting a status on Facebook or posting a picture on Instagram can be a form of therapy and catharsis when it comes to certain taboo issues. As more Nigerians join the Internet via their smart phones, get ready to read more unspoken topics.