Appropriation, coloniality, and digital technologies. Observations from within an African place

TL;DR

This paper critically examines how digital technologies are appropriated in an African context, highlighting colonial influences and advocating for a decolonial approach that emphasizes community over individualism.

Contribution

It offers philosophical insights into the coloniality of digital technologies and proposes a decolonial perspective to foster better alignment with African ways of knowing.

Findings

Digital technologies are linked to colonial power structures.

Imported technologies often clash with local African epistemologies.

A decolonial turn can foster community-centered sensitivities.

Abstract

This paper provides an assessment of experiences and understanding of digital technologies from within an African place. It provides philosophical reflections upon the introduction and existence - appropriation - of digital technologies. Digital technologies are inherently linked to a colonialising power and, in general, unaligned with local, African ways of knowing. Imported technologies are set in modern, universalised doing and unsensitive to the importance of aligned being in African contexts. Sensitivities, it is argued, can be fostered by a decolonial turn, where focus shifts from the individual to the community.