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The social media platform is slowly proving to be a bridge between businesses and consumers, so the impact of its shutdown is almost glaring. Take out the bridge and most SMME (Small, Medium, Micro Enterprises) will be unable to reach out to their consumers. This may be one of the rather obvious impacts the Twitter ban has on the economy, but it gets deeper and more damaging. E-commerce has been on the rise for the last decade. A rising percentage of individuals in Africa now make their purchases online, from printing and branding to paying utility bills, purchasing food items, and even booking flights and accommodation. Zoom in a little and you find out that, in the past few years, social media have fused itself into that demography. The goal is to influence end-users to buy a product, and what other way to do it than by going to the very place they spend a nice chunk of their time? Twitter simply drives e-commerce forward, which in turn propels a nation’s economy.
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So, what happens when Twitter gets banned? What real impact does it have on commerce? For one, a move like that scares off investors who would want to invest in the technology sector. SMME’s which depend on the platform now have a gap between them and their customers. In the wider picture, this means that there will be several dents in the commerce; when businesses suffer, the economy does. There will also be a near-halt in productivity. Twitter is just that ‘important. Slow productivity will eventually lead to loss of money and cost jobs. Banning Twitter will always be a huge blow in an economy, especially one with a young population that is increasingly becoming digital minded. With failing infrastructure, double-taxation, and other factors existing to choke businesses, social media platforms like Twitter will continue to help the surge of E-commerce. Take it out of the equation and the trend only goes downward. Featured Image Source: Slate
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