Is ignorance truly bliss?

I am an avid lover of George Orwell’s book 1984. Within the book, a major concept that plays on is that ignorance is bliss. Hence, people living in poverty (the proles) with limited availability to information on the economy somehow live happily. So, I started to ponder upon how such a concept plays within my continent. Is ignorance truly bliss? With poverty in Africa being so high, is the absence of information about the economy to the general members of the society the cause of social stability in spite of economic turmoil (Asogwa, Eze, & Ezema, 2017)? When the economy is in shambles and the political sphere is in disarray are we still under the misconception that all is well? Does happiness exist in poverty?(Graham, 2011)

Research Topic: Is ignorance truly bliss? Investigating the link between the lack of general information and the conception of the economy in Ghana.

Is the conception of the present economic condition in a country by members of the public associated with how often they use the internet as a source of news?

Data & methods

This sample is taking from the Afro – barometer. It depicts 2400 respondents from Ghana answering questions pertaining to their perception of the economy and their use of the internet as a source of news.

In relation to the research topic, investigating the use of the internet as a source of news is what is being presented as “general information.” Other sources such as the radio (Fombad, Madeleine, & Jiyane, 2016) or newspapers (Omolewa, 2008) are not suitable sources of information for this project. However, the nature of the internet makes it the best source of estimating ones general knowledge (Stilwell, 2018)

The observations from this sample were achieved via surveys.

Thus, using the two categorical variables of “Conception of the economy” and “frequency of the use of the internet as a source of news.”

According to the Chi – squared test, there is an association between these two variables

Results: Univariate Analysis

From the graph above, we come to find that 85% of Ghanaians have a negative conception of the economy whereas for positive conception it is only 15%.

As depicted above, we come to find that within the rural setting there is a greater positive conception of the economy as compared to the urban setting.

Results: Bivariate Analysis

Key Findings

From the univariate analysis key proportions are brought to light. From the sample, most Ghanaians have a negative conception of the economy.

The Urban rural relationship simply sheds light to the relative differences –this graph is a bonus feature.

However, we come to find that per or Bivariate Analysis there is an association between “Perception of the economy” and “Use of the internet as a source of Information”

It must be said, the association is not extremely strong – although there is still an association

Moreover, as the use of the internet increases, the more likely one perceives the Ghanaian economy in a positive manner

As the use of the internet decreases, the more likely one perceives the Ghanaian economy in a negative manner

Conclusion

The overarching question from my research question being Is ignorance bliss appears to be less likely the case in Ghana –using the internet as a source of awareness.

I have come to find out that from my sample, the lower one’s usage of the internet as a source of news, the more likely they are to rate the economy negatively. Thus, ignorance is not bliss, but awareness is rather.

Why is this the case, contrary to other research works and the 1984 book? Two huge lurking variables are the availability of information and technology in low income households as well as and ones competency with the internet due to their education level (Ajakaiye, Olu, & Kimenyi, 2011). Hence, with a low income and inability to use the internet most likely due to a low education level, such a person is more likely to be living in undesirable conditions, thus, they have a negative conception of the economy. However, this claim arising from the lurking variables can be refuted with the simple logic that this paradox of “Poverty and happiness/bliss” has been proven (Graham, 2011)

So why are the findings as such? Why is it so that the higher one’s usage of the internet as a source of news, the more likely they are to have a positive conception of the Ghanaian economy?

This is so because the Ghanaian economy is relatively perfoming well. Though there is much poverty and low infrastructure capacity, there is still a significant amount of development. With a strong economic growth and increasing standards of living, the state o the Ghanaian economy is not as bad as many would claim – especially in relation to other low income countries. Hence, the higher one’s use of the internet, the more likely they are to know about the economy, especially in relation to other low income countries. They come to understand that all is not as bad as it seems, hence, tend to have a higher perception of the Ghanaian economy.

Thus, the answer to the overarching question Is ignorance bliss? Yes – but only if things are going bad. In the case of Ghana’s economy, things are actually going well, hence, ignorance is not bliss in this case.

So, fellow Ghanaians, put the pitchforks down, for no revolts are required here. The Ghanaian economy is doing well and those with access to the best source of information – the internet –are most likely to know this, hence are more likely to have a more positive conception of the economy.

This research has introduced another aspect to the age old question of, Is ignorance bliss? By depicting that such is most likely to be the case if and only if the surroundings are in a tumultuous state.

References

Ajakaiye, Olu, and Mwangi S. Kimenyi. “Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa: Introduction and Overview.” Journal of African Economies 20, no. suppl_3 (August 1, 2011): iii3–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejr027.

Asogwa, Brendan Eze, and Ifeanyi Jonas Ezema. “Freedom of Access to Government Information in Africa: Trends, Status and Challenges.” Records Management Journal 27, no. 3 (August 18, 2017): 318–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-08-2015-0029.

Fombad, Madeleine C., and Glenrose Veli Jiyane. “The Role of Community Radios in Information Dissemination to Rural Women in South Africa.” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, September 22, 2016, 0961000616668960. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000616668960.

Graham, Carol. “Adaptation amidst Prosperity and Adversity: Insights from Happiness Studies from around the World.” The World Bank Research Observer 26, no. 1 (February 1, 2011): 105–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkq004.

OMOLEWA, MICHAEL. “ADULT LITERACY IN AFRICA: THE PUSH AND PULL FACTORS.” International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift Für Erziehungswissenschaft / Revue Internationale de l’Education 54, no. 5/6 (2008): 697–711.

Stilwell, Christine. “Information as Currency, Democracy, and Public Libraries.” Library Management 39, no. 5 (April 18, 2018): 295–306. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-08-2017-0078.