Flirtation, climate and alcohol consumption…Naija style

So what is the deal here in Nigeria? It would make sense to assume that since we experience similar warm climatic conditions, we would display the same outgoing nature as Mediterraneans (very friendly people from locations like Spain and the South of France). But this is not necessarily the case.

In order to figure out why, I conducted a “Flirtation Survey” amongst young Nigerians in their twenties and early thirties. The results of this survey revealed that many of us are actually not as outgoing as we may appear to be. We generally prefer outings in familiar environments where we are more likely to interact with close friends, mutual friends or regular acquaintances. We essentially prefer to hang out with the same people at the same places.

This is probably why certain places seem to be the only options for a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night out now (well, until the hype moves to a new venue).

Another observation is that we don't really have the “outdoorsy” culture. For example, until recently, our typical holiday would be a shopping trip to London, Dubai or the United States, where each day’s activity would typically be a visit to a new mall, rather than going out to experience a new culture and interact with locals.

I’ve noticed that one of the main reasons we ever even attempt to get out is social media: in order to see somewhat cool, we take pictures whilst we are in these foreign environments; sometimes without even bothering to learn anything about history of that very structure we are posing next to.

Even here in Nigeria, during our “outdoor” trips to the beach, we would rather hang out indoors within the confines of the beach house and swimming pool than going out enjoy the earthiness of the actual beach. Well, this might also be because, people may be a little nervous about going close to the beach water as a result of some scary folk stories OR because there are valid safety concerns at the beach (i.e. uncertainty about tides, lack or lifeguards, etc).

The results of further illustrated that social interaction is most favoured via non-verbal communication on social media. This also is indicative of the fact that Nigeria has the largest smart phone market in the Africa and second largest mobile phone market in the world.

Furthermore, most people drink socially and mere observations simply reveal that social self-esteem and the confidence to flirt are fuelled by alcohol.

So, you may agree that despite our very busy social calendars in Nigeria, we are little anti-social or maybe just a tiny bit shy; and sometimes need alcohol as a push to boost our social self-esteem.

Written by Oyin Egbeyemi

Oyin Egbeyemi is an engineer-turned-consultant-turned-educationist, runner and writer.