FREE
february 2017
A PROJECT
OF THE
CAPE TOWN
PARTNERSHIP
Molo | Hello | Goeiedag
LOVE BYTES
How to find local love
online
PAGES 4&5
DEEP
AND WIDE
A portrait of Cape Town’s
digital divide
PAGE 10
CONNECTED
CITY
Why smart cities can be
dumb
DIGITAL POWER
TO THE PEOPLE
PAGE 11
WHY CAPE TOWN NEEDS CONNECTED CITIZENS
Oh snap! 10 local apps to make
your day more interesting
PAGE 2-3
Chenai Chair: “Barriers to
internet use are more likely to be
faced by women than men. ”
SCREEN PLAY
You told us about your first
time online
PAGE 12
www.capetownpartnership.co.za
2
MOLO february 2017
IN SHORT
EDITORIAL
Molo.
Hello.
Goeiedag.
Molo is a free community paper,
focused on the people of
Cape Town, and published by
the Cape Town Partnership.
Created by: Alan Cameron, Ambre
Nicolson, Chenai Chair, Dave Buchanan,
Joey Vance, Kaylon Koeries, Maxine Case,
Nadia Krige, Quasiem Gamiet, Ruby Zhao
Published by:
Cape Town Partnership
34 Bree Street
T: 021 419 1881
SEND US YOUR STORIES
If you or someone you know has an
interesting story to tell, mail us at
[email protected]
(no press releases, please).
WHERE TO FIND MOLO
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Contact the creators of Molo:
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Email: [email protected]
Tel: 021 419 1881
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Molo, Cape Town Partnership, 10th Floor,
The Terraces, 34 Bree Street, 8001
The new right
to the city
I
recently spent a month in the rural Eastern
Cape, for our annual family holiday. On my
return to the office, colleagues enthused about
how rested I looked, how relaxed I seemed.
“Must have been the lack of internet access,” one
of them concluded.
“Actually, the connectivity where we were
is very strong,” I countered. “That was a nonnegotiable.”
Everyone laughed, knowing how anxious I
become if I’m out of the internet loop for too
long.
I smiled too, thinking about the fun we used
to have when visiting only a few short years ago.
Then, the problem was signal strength – try as I
might my phone would remain signal-free. There
was not a single bar to be had in my father’s home.
The solution was to climb to the top of one of
the nearby hills; and there we would call or surf
to our heart’s content, until the light faded or the
cooling weather sent us back down.
I’m lucky that in my daily life, internet access
can be a non-negotiable. In South Africa, of
course, this is not normally the case. According
to the General Household Survey published
by Stats SA in June 2016, only 9.6% of South
Africans have access to the internet at home (in
the Western Cape, this figure is 21.4%).
However, home internet access (accounting
for 9.7% of internet usage) is only part of the
picture. Most South Africans access the internet
at work (15.1%), and 5.1% go online at school,
university or college. While these numbers seem
low, the research revealed that 53.5% of South
African households had at least one member
who was able to access the internet – whether at
home, work, place of study, or at an internet café.
Thinking of how my family and I accessed the
internet years ago, using phones with limited
functionality, it is interesting for me to note
how smartphones are driving internet access.
In South Africa, 47.6% of people access the
internet via their mobile phones, and this is
particularly relevant to rural households. From
the Stats SA report: “Whereas only 2.1%, 3.7%
and 3.1% of households respectively had access
to the internet at home, at work and elsewhere,
more than a third (33.7%) had access through
mobile devices.”
The authors of the report noted that mobile
access also benefited households in the
High-speed fibre has
been laid at more than 1 000
public buildings.
metropolitan and urban areas of South Africa,
and that the largest proportion of households
in the Western Cape and Gauteng access the
internet via mobile devices. However, as we all
know by now, data is extremely expensive in
South Africa. Falling data costs would benefit all
South Africans – but especially the nearly 50% of
the population who use their mobiles to connect
to the rest of the world.
Government has a part to play. In her recent
State of the Province address, Premier Helen
Zille announced that high-speed fibre has
been laid at more than 1 000 public buildings,
while broadband has been activated at over
900 of these sites. Of this number, 692 schools,
92 libraries and 169 corporate sites have been
connected. Thanks to a partnership with Neotel,
in March this year the first 50 of more than 380
public Wi-Fi hotspots offering limited free Wi-Fi
will be launched.
The City of Cape Town has more than 250
public Wi-Fi zones offering free access via a
partnership with Always On; these operate on
top of the City’s fibre-optic network. According
to the City, most of these hotspots are located
in suburbs and centres that are not covered by
commercial service providers, or where the cost
of such services are out of the reach of most
residents. These areas include Nyanga, Philippi,
Kraafontein, Seawinds and Khayelitsha.
A 2017 report by the Alliance for Affordable
Internet, released in February, predicts that by
this year, 50% of the world will have access to
the internet; but of the 50% offline, most will
be women in developing countries. The cost of
data is one of the biggest barriers to achieving
universal access. For instance, in Africa, buying
1GB of data “costs an average citizen nearly 18%
of their monthly income.” The report confirms
that data costs are falling – but not fast enough.
We need to do better. And yes, fees should fall!
3
COLUMN
UNEASY ACCESS: WHY WOMEN
ARE LESS CONNECTED
T
here’s
universal
agreement that accessing
and using the internet is
important – almost lifechanging. Roll-out of broadband to
increase connectivity marks many
developmental policies, including
South Africa’s. The Western
Cape provincial government,
in line with the national policy,
implemented the ‘Connected
leadership’ broadband roll-out
for the purposes of provincial
development and growth.
To see how ready users would
be, in 2014 a Digital Readiness
Assessment of the province was
conducted by Research ICT
Africa. It was found that 57%
of individuals had access to the
internet. Broken down by gender,
the results show that internet
access is still low for both males
and females, but more so for
women. Only 53% of the female
population were internet users,
compared to 61.5% of the male
population.
Closing the gendered access
gap is rightly a call to action,
but it leaves one wondering: will
the access provided result in
meaningful use?
For both men and women,
internet use enables a whole range
of activities – for educational
purposes, e-commerce transactions,
and getting information on different
subjects.
Clearly the internet provides a
platform for sharing information,
providing
some
sense
of
knowledge-sharing
that
is
relevant to women. However,
further investigation is needed
into the kind of information
women post online.
In a focus group study done
in Ashton in 2016, we found
that both women and men were
using the internet to post and
read information relating to work
opportunities. Seeking health
information was significant for
both men and women, but more
so for women. The focus groups
highlighted women’s reliance
on searching for home remedies
for ailments, while men did
not mention this use. While
this shows a limited difference
between internet use by men and
by women, when education and
income are taken into account,
the levels of use and access begin
to differ more significantly.
Barriers to internet use are
more likely to be faced by women
than men. For women who are
internet users, surveillance or
privacy invasion was a significant
concern, limiting their internet
use. One female focus group
participant resorted to changing
her contact information and
limiting online interaction after
receiving
unwanted
sexual
advances
on
social-media
platforms. Some men have the
opinion that in order to preserve
the relationships they are in,
Barriers to
internet use are more
likely to be faced by
women than men.
Male %
feMale %
77.4
Social network
77.5
71.8
Fact or word definition checks
Posting & reading information
73.4
69
Health related information
68.6
60.6
68.1
Video/TV and music viewing
67.7
Video/computer gaming
66.3
61.3
Downloading music or videos
66.6
60.2
Getting information about goods or
64.2
services
Find a place or get direction
Educational research
Online documents collaboration
Searching for free educational con-
Downloading software
Educational or learning activities
59.2
71.7
58.1
50.3
53.2
53.9
53.0
51.8
47.8
45.5
43.6
tent
Distance learning or job training
64.6
59.2
42.5
49.7
54.1
43.5
43.5
41
40.2
FIGURE 1: Highly rated activities that internet is used for between males and females in the Western Cape.
Source RIA Digital Readiness Survey 2014
women should not be online. As
a male focus group respondent
put it: “No, my point is, what
is she going to do there – what
do married people want on
WhatsApp?”
Looking at people who do not
use the internet, who made up
43% of respondents to the survey,
61.4% were women. A significant
reason for women’s non-use of the
internet was a lack of knowledge
on what the internet is and how
to use it. For these women –
in particular those who lack
digital skills – the significance of
connecting to the internet is lost.
In my opinion, women would
be able to use the internet to
benefit them in their day-to-day
lives if they had the ability to
use it meaningfully, as a result
of building up digital skills. But
building up women’s skills also
means equipping them to protect
their online information and deal
with privacy challenges, without
being pushed offline.
Chenai Chair is a Researcher and
Communications/Evaluations Advisor who focuses on understanding
access and use issues for marginalised groups, in particular women
and youth.
@chenaichair @RIAnetwork
shorts
10 Cape Town-based apps for your phone
Audio walking tours, shark spotting, online wine shopping, city-specific photo edits … and more than a couple of ways to figure out
where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there. Local app-makers have you covered.
SnapScan
Shark Spotters
Cape
Town Love
Cape Town Maps
and Walks
Rooster
Mornings
Transport for
Cape Town (TCT)
Official Guide
to Cape Town
SNAPnSAVE
VoiceMap
MyVinos
Cape Town entrepreneur Kobus
Ehlers founded SnapScan in
2014. SnapScan links to your
credit card, allowing you to
pay for goods by scanning QR
codes and eliminating the need
to carry cash.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: iPhone, Android,
Blackberry
In 2016, Shark Spotters created
an app to help inform people
of shark sightings. In addition
to reporting the latest shark
activity, the Shark Spotters app
provides updated weather and
surfing information for Cape
Town’s most popular beaches.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: iPhone, Android
Collaborating with design studio
Wild Measure, tech whiz Aaron
Marshall and his company, Over,
developed the Cape Town Love
app. It allows you to overlay cityspecific phrases and artwork on
your photos. You can then share
your personalised Cape Town
images on Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter and other social media.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: iPhone
GPSmyCity’s app Cape Town
Maps and Walks features a
comprehensive map of the city,
and multiple self-guided tour
options. The app works offline,
so you can explore Cape Town’s
sights without internet or data.
Cost: Free (lite version) and
$4.99 (full version)
Compatibility: iPhone, Android
Josh Perry and Dominic Koening are co-founders of the Cape
Town start-up Rooster. Their
app, Rooster Mornings, is a social alarm clock that allows you
to create personal audio notes
that you can send to other
users. You can also set channel
alarms, such as news, weather,
and comedy, to brighten up
your morning.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: iPhone, Android
The TCT app, a Cape Town
Transport Authority creation,
combines the stations and
stops of all scheduled public
transport in the city. With this
information, you can plan trips
across various transport services and estimate the cost of
these excursions.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: iPhone, Android,
Windows
Cape Town Tourism launched
the Official Guide to Cape
Town as a mobile app in 2016.
Targeted primarily at first-time
tourists, the app is like ‘having a
local in your pocket’. It provides
essential visitor information,
such as event times, opening
hours, and maps.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: iPhone, Android
Mark Bradshaw, founder of
Cape Town-based SNAPnSave, announced the release
of his company’s app in 2015.
SNAPnSAVE is a shopping app
that has reinvented couponing
in South Africa. Use the app
to browse special offers and
book them. Then you buy the
product, upload the receipt,
and enjoy the savings!
Cost: Free
Ian Manley and Lauren Edwards co-founded VoiceMap,
introducing their app in 2014.
VoiceMap offers ten GPS audio
walks in Cape Town, each
featuring an insightful local
narrator.
Cost: Free (in-app purchases)
Compatibility: Apple, Android
Xavier, Shaun Conway, Philip
Kiracofe, and Jörg Pfützner,
with the help of the Taj Reserve,
launched this app in 2015. A
must-have for any wine enthusiast, MyVinos allows you to
choose from an extensive list of
whites and reds and have them
delivered to your door.
Cost: Free
Compatibility: Apple
4
MOLO february 2017
feature
SMART CITIZENS
DIGITAL
INNOVATORS
1
Meet six of Cape Town’s most inventive digital
characters, start-ups and social-media platforms.
Text by Kaylon Koeries, images supplied.
Suzelle DIY
Suzelle DIY (portrayed by Julia Anastasopoulos) is one of the country’s most beloved
YouTube personalities. She is a sincere (and slightly naïve) Afrikaans woman from
Somerset West, with a quirky style. Her web series is made up of highly comical yet
informative DIY tutorials – and the occasional South African recipe.
SketchBook Studios, headed by Ari Kruger and Julia Anastasopoulos, have blurred
the line between real and digital by creating an entire persona (and her world) using
YouTube and social media. Initially they intended Suzelle to come across as a real
person, and didn’t put their names to the project at the start.
The duo were fascinated by YouTube, the myriad characters and variety of content,
and thought it would be amazing if someone looking up how to drill a hole came across
Suzelle. The mystery surrounding the character really helped to build the hype. The
genuine tone of the videos and unique use of all the platforms make Suzelle feel like a
real person, and not just a character.
YouTube allows a freedom unheard of in traditional film – initially, Julia and Ari
wanted to produce a film, but were short of resources; instead, they opted to “just put a
video on YouTube, and see what happens”.
The first video uploaded was ‘How to drill a hole without making a mess’; but Suzelle
hit the big time when ‘How to make a braai-pie’ went viral. This led to brand partnerships
and TV advertisements. The studio used YouTube and other digital platforms to release
entertaining content, bypassing the many hurdles of film publication.
2
Isabelo
Wi-Fi bench
Given our high data prices and permanently
connected smartphones, the words ‘free WiFi’ can be more refreshing than a cold breeze
on a hot day. The Isabelo bench provides
free, unlimited internet access, and a space
to recharge your body and your devices. The
bench features a night light, Wi-Fi access,
and four USB outlets to charge your gadgets,
all powered by solar energy.
The first Isabelo bench was installed
in Braamfontein. The name ‘Isabelo’ is
derived from a Zulu word meaning ‘to
share’ – very apt, as the bench creates
many opportunities for sharing, whether it
be your latest selfie on Snapchat, a lunch
pic on Instagram, or simply an interaction
with others using the bench. The bench was
created by Louise Meeks of Public Access
Consulting, and designed and constructed
by acclaimed design company Dokter and
Misses, who describe it as a “plug-and-play
solution for public spaces”.
Sadly, the Cape Town Isabelo bench has
left the city centre, but there is one being put
to good use in Stellenbosch.
3
Team C4
Cape Town’s erstwhile Isabelo bench
Contact centres are an accessible employment option for a large
number of Cape Town’s unemployed youth – but finding suitable
jobseekers with the right skills has been a struggle for the industry.
Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA) joined forces
with creative design and development partners Formula D, who
specialise in the design and production of learning games. After
discussing the skills challenges facing the industry, they had the
idea of making use of a platform already ubiquitous among young
people – smartphones.
Part game, part recruitment tool, Team C4 measures a player’s
numeracy, literacy, problem-solving and language capabilities
through the completion of games, or ‘missions’, as they are referred
to in the app. It then makes this data available to recruiters and
potential employers. This allows prospective job seekers to be
placed in positions that are in line with their skill set.
The game is available for any smartphone that runs Android
2.2 or later, and takes up only 39Mb, which means it is extremely
accessible to the target demographic.
45
Lumkani
Domestly
Domestly, the brainchild of Thatoyaona Marumo and Berno Potgieter, is
a South African service that allows you to hire domestic workers at the
tap of a button. The idea came about in 2014, when Berno wanted to help
his domestic worker, Victoria Ngetu, to earn extra income. He moved
the idea from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and it took off, subsequently
launching in Johannesburg and Pretoria as well.
Domestly is the first local, on-demand cleaning app. It takes less than
three minutes to hire a cleaner, for as soon as the following day. The
app connects you to cleaning professionals directly, making it easier for
you to hire a professional, while also creating business opportunities for
the cleaners. Reviews, ratings, background checks and detailed profiles
make hiring a cleaning professional safe, quick and easy. They also offer
their services to businesses.
Domestly not only takes the effort out of hiring a cleaner, it also aims to
empower women by granting them the flexibility of being self-employed,
without being exploited. The cleaning professionals set their own rates,
allowing them to decide their own income, and receive the full amount
paid. Customers pay via credit card or EFT. The service is available via
the Domestly app from the App Store and Google Play, as well as on
domestly.com.
Berno Potgieter, Natasha Riley and Thatoyaona Marumo
Fires are a very real threat in informal settlements,
thanks to a combination of high population density,
flammable structures, and fire being the main
source of heat and lighting. When a fire breaks out
in an informal settlement, it spreads very quickly –
and the results can be devastating.
In 2013, a tragic New Year’s Day fire in Khayelitsha
that displaced thousands of people sparked
research into and the development of Lumkani, a
fire-detection system, by a team of UCT students.
The early-warning detection system originated
in the Engineering Honours thesis of Francois
Petousis, at UCT. The 2013 fire brought together
a multi-disciplinary group of three mechatronic
engineers (Samuel Ginsberg, Paul Mesarcik
and Francois Petousis), an industrial designer
(Max Basler), a social scientist (Emily Vining),
an entrepreneur/economist (David Gluckman),
and a community liaison officer (Clive Nqiwa)
– each with a wealth of experience in their
respective fields.
Many people in informal settlements still burn
fossil fuels for heat, cooking and light, so a smoke
detector is literally just a false alarm. Lumkani
detects heat (as opposed to smoke), and alerts
those in the dwelling of the danger, allowing
them to escape or put the fire out – but then it also
communicates, via transmission technology, with
other Lumkani devices within a forty-metre radius,
sounding the alarm across the vicinity. This allows
the damage caused by a fire to be minimised, as
potential victims are alerted so they can help to put
out the fire – saving themselves and their property;
minimising repair costs; and more importantly,
preventing loss of life.
Lumkani are hoping to sell their devices and
service to government, international donor
agencies, NGOs and shack dwellers – not only
locally but internationally. Each device costs only
around R110, though there is huge opportunity for
government and other organisations to subsidise
the cost and help to increase uptake rapidly.
6
Gather
Gather is a new social-media platform, founded by
South Africans, that focuses on conversation. It is
intended to connect people in discussion around
common interests. Mark Bryson, COO of Gather
Online SA, told us their story.
“David Price, a South African expat living in
Australia, lost touch with most of his newlyformed Australian network when he lived briefly
in the UK. On his return to Australia, he tried
using existing social-media platforms to meet new
people, but wasn’t satisfied with the results.
“At a barbecue, David met a lot of new people
– which stimulated a brainwave. The limited
duration of the event was a catalyst for interaction
and engagement; people didn’t want to miss
the opportunity to connect. So David set about
emulating this situation online, creating ‘an
environment with a limited duration, which
would drive people to interact’ – and Gather
Online was born.
“The broad concept of the platform is to provide
an online space where users can join or start a
conversation, about any topic imaginable. The
reasoning behind the time limit is to ensure that
the content is always fresh (unlike a forum); and
to increase engagement, as it puts a time limit on
interaction. It also provides a measure of comfort
that you can express your opinions freely, as there
is no permanent record of the conversation.”
Mark further expressed the company’s desire to
build a platform that offers social and business
value propositions. A successfully tested use
case for the platform has been hosting online
networking points for conferences; there are also
obvious opportunities to connect socially, and
even romantically.
The website was launched (in beta) six months
ago and the company currently has over 30 000
users, with strong interest from outside South
Africa and Australia – notable sign-ups being from
Pakistan, the USA, Canada and India. An app is
available on Android and iOS.
5
6
MOLO february 2017
Feature
Find A free
Wi-Fi spot
WE MAP CAPE TOWN’S UNEVEN DIGITAL LANDSCAPE AND SHOW YOU WHERE TO FIND AFREE Wi-Fi HOTSPOT
= 0-30%
|
= 30-60%
|
= 60-80%
|
= 80+%
Ward 1 (Plattekloof) – 75.5%
Ward 56 (Kensington, Acacia Park, Maitland) – 61.2%
Ward 2 (Bellville, Parow North, Parow East) – 71.9%
Ward 57 (Woodstock, Obs, Salt River) – 79.8%
Ward 3 (Belgravia, Bellville) – 70%
Ward 58 (Rondebosch) – 87%
Ward 4 (Milnerton, Montague Gardens,
Ward 59 (Claremont, Newlands, Kenilworth) – 85.3%
Joe Slovo) – 65%
Ward 5 (Bothasig, Edgemead) – 75.1%
Ward 60 (Rondebosch East, Landsdowne) – 75.1%
Ward 6 (Brackenfell) – 38.3%
Ward 61 (Simon’s Town) – 59.6%
Ward 7 (Scottsdene) – 55.2%
Ward 62 (Constantia, Bishopscourt, Wynberg) – 80.1%
Ward 8 (Brackenfell) – 68.5%
Ward 63 (Ottery, Wetton, Wynberg) – 68.5%
Ward 9 (Bellville South, Belhar) – 41.1%
Ward 64 (Muizenberg, Fish Hoek
Ward 10 (Ravensmead, Bellville) – 58.1%
and Kalk Bay) – 77.9%
Ward 65 (Grassy Park, Lotus River) – 49.1%
Ward 11 (Kuils River) – 50.7%
Ward 66 (Ottery, Parkwood) – 43.5%
Ward 12 (Belhar) – 38.1%
Ward 67 (Zeekoevlei, Pelican Park) – 38.8%
Ward 13 (Belhar) – 30.2%
Ward 68 (Steenberg and Lavender Hill) – 43.1%
Ward 14 (Blackheath) – 48.5%
Ward 69 (Noordhoek and surrounds) – 55.8%
Ward 16 (Eerste River) – 43.3%
Ward 17 (Blue Downs, Eerste River) – 51.5%
Ward 71 (Bergvliet, Tokai, Steenberg etc) – 75.8%
Ward 18 (Mandalay) – 36.8%
Ward 72 (Heathfield, Retreat) – 62.1%
Ward 19 (Blue Downs) – 42.3%
Ward 73 (Deurdrif, Meadowridge, Diep River) – 75.8%
Ward 74 (Hout Bay – Bakoven) – 59.8%
Ward 20 (Delft) – 30.5%
Ward 75 (Woodlands) – 47.9%
Ward 22 (Belhar) – 44.1%
Ward 76 (Lentegeur, Mandalay) – 52.7%
Ward 23 (Blouberg, Melkbos) – 83.1%
Ward 77 (Oranjezicht, Tamboerskloof etc) – 84.7%
Ward 24 (Nyanga) – 30%
Ward 78 (Mitchells Plain) – 63.6%
Ward 25 (Elsies River) – 26.9%
Ward 79 (Mitchells Plain) - 41.8%
Ward 26 (Parow) – 51.6%
Ward 27 (Goodwood) – 65.4%
Ward 80 (Philippi farmland) – 27.4%
Ward 28 (Elsies River, Epping) – 30%
Ward 81 (Mitchells Plain) – 41.2%
Ward 29 (Chatsworth) – 37.8%
Ward 82 (Mitchells Plain) – 31.2%
Ward 83 (Strand) – 42.5%
Ward 30 (Epping) – 41.7%
Ward 84 (Somerset West) – 71.8%
Ward 31 (Montevideo, Nooitgedacht) – 34.1%
Ward 85 (Nomzamo, Strand) – 41.7%
Ward 32 (Atlantis) – 32.5%
Ward 86 (Nomzamo, Lwandle, Strand) – 26.4%
Ward 33 (Philippi) – 25%
Ward 87 (Khayelitsha) – 24.5%
Ward 34 (Philippi) – 26.2%
Ward 88 (Philippi) – 32.6%
Ward 35 (Klipfontein) – 24.6%
Ward 89 (Khayelitsha) – 30.6%
Ward 36 (Crossroads) – 33.1%
Ward 37 (New Crossroads/Nyanga) – 30.9%
Ward 90 (Khayelitsha) – 28.6%
Ward 38 (New Crossroads) – 57.8%
Ward 91 (Khayelitsha) – 34%
Ward 39 (Nyanga) – 23.4%
Ward 92 (Khayelitsha) – 53%
Ward 93 (Khayelitsha) – 30.5%
Ward 40 (Nyanga) – 23.5%
Ward 94 (Khayelitsha) – 46%
Ward 41 (Gugulethu) – 48.7%
Ward 95 (Khayelitsha) – 26.6%
Ward 42 (Nyanga) – 31.5%
Ward 96 (Khayelitsha) – 32.3%
Ward 43 (Strandfontein) – 60%
Ward 97 (Khayelitsha) – 43.8%
Ward 44 (Heideveld) – 32.9%
Ward 98 (Khayelitsha) – 31.2%
Ward 45 (Manenberg) – 37.3%
Ward 99 (Khayelitsha) – 29.2%
Ward 46 ( Surrey Estate, Primrose Park, Newfields,
Hatton, Pinati) – 45.9%
Ward 100 (Gordons Bay) – 50.9%
Ward 47 (Hanover Park) – 28.4%
Ward 101 (Kraaifontein) – 26.2%
Ward 48 ( Belthorn, Sunnyside,
Ward 102 (Brackenfell East) – 73.8%
Rylands Estate) – 55.6%
Ward 49 (Kewtown, Bridgetown, Silvertown) – 43.5%
Ward 103 (Durbanville) – 78.2%
Ward 104 (Morningstar, Durbanville) – 36.7%
Ward 105 (Durbanville) – 57.3%
Ward 50 (Bonteheuwel) – 32.8%
Ward 106 (Delft) – 29.4%
Ward 51 (Langa) – 42.9%
Ward 107 (Tableview, Blouberg, Sunridge) – 83.5%
Ward 52 (Langa/Bonteheuwel) – 27.4%
Ward 108 (Blue Downs) – 34.4%
Ward 53 (Pinelands, Epping, Ndabeni) – 74.3%
Ward 109 (Macassar) – 34.9%
Ward 54 (Camps Bay – Mouille Point) – 78.2%
Ward 110 (Cafda Village) – 43.8%
Ward 55 (Woodstock, Paarden Eiland,
Ward 111 (Kraaifontein, Wallacedene) – 35.6%
Milnerton) – 64.1%
Free public Wi-Fi hotspots
29
Rolled out by Western Cape Government
Ward Location
2
Education District Office North
2
Brackenfell High, Brackenfell
3
Aristea Primary, Kraaifontein
3
Bellville HTS, Bellville
5
Bosmansdam High, Bothasig
6
Scottsdene CDC, Kraaifontein
7
Kraaifontein CHC, Kraaifontein
8
Gene Louw Traffic College, Brackenfell
9
Bellville Suid Secondary, Bellville
9
Sunbell Building, Bellville
10
Health Department, Parow
11
Education District Office East, Kuilsriver
12
Dr Van der Ross Primary, Boston
13
Rosendal Secondary, Delft
14
Eerste River Social Development, Eerste River
16
Manzomthombo Secondary, Mfuleni
17
Forest Heights High, Eerste River
19
Kuils River Primary, Kuils River
20
Voorbrug Secondary, Delft
21
Durbanville High, Durbanville
22
Symphony Secondary, Belhar
25
Uitsig Primary, Uitsig
26
Elsewood Secondary, Elsies River
27
Goulbourn Centre, Goodwood
28
Marian Road Secondary, Matroosfontein
30
Range Secondary, Matroosfontein
31
Modderdam Secondary, Bonteheuwel
33
Sophumelela Secondary, Mitchell’s Plain
34
Sinethemba Secondary, Philippi
36
Dr Nelson Mandela High, Crossroads
37
Oscar Mpetha High, Nyanga
42
Mannenberg Secondary, Manenberg
44
Heideveld Secondary, Athlone
45
Phoenix Secondary, Manenberg
46
Easter Peak Primary, Athlone
47
Hanover Park CHC, Hanover Park
49
Bridgetown Secondary, Athlone
50
Bonteheuwel Secondary, Bonteheuwel
51
Ikamvalethu Secondary, Langa
52
Isimilela Secondary School, Langa
53
Langa Social Development, Langa
54
Green Point CDC, Green Point
55
St. Agnes’ Primary, Woodstock
56
Maitland Sekondêr, Maitland
57
Salt River Secondary, Salt River
58
Livingstone High School, Claremont
59
Groote Schuur High, Rondebosch
60
Windsor High School, Rondebosch East
62
Tenterden House, Wynberg
63
Plumstead High, Plumstead
65
Grassdale High, Grassy Park
66
Ferndale Primary School, Ottery
67
Zeekoevlei Secondary, Lotus River
70
Kenridge Primary, Durbanville
71
Zwaanswyk High Tokai
72
Southfield Primary, Southfield
73
Westcott Primary, Diep River
74
Zisukhanyo High, Mitchell’s Plain
77
148 Long Street, CBD
77
Company’s Garden
80
Intsebenziswano High, Philippi
88
Philippi Secondary, Philippi
106
Masibambisane Secondary, Delft
108
Mfuleni Secondary, Mfuleni
110
Grassy Park Secondary, Grassy Park
111
Scottsville Secondary, Scottsville
32
23
105
104
107
54
113
51
58
46
47
62
45
42
38
33
72
71
68
35
108
17
87
90
116
91
92
79
43
14
114
118
76
81
67
19
20
78
110
12
88
75
80
65
36
37
34
11
106 13
24
39
66
73
22
40
41
8
9
31
63
74
25
50
44
48
60
52
6
10
28
30
54
3
26
49
59
2
56
53
57
102
7
27
101
111
5
115
77
70
0
17
4
55
103
112
99
82
89
94
93
97
98
16
96
95
109
15
84
64
69
83
85
86
100
61
Private hotspots
Ward Location
A
Church Square, CBD
B
Table Mountain Cableway Wi-Fi Lounge
C
CTICC, Foreshore
D
St. Andrew’s Square, Green Point
7
8
MOLO february 2017
FEATURE
Love online
9
DIGITAL DATING
It can be hard to find something that satisfies our souls (or even just our
sexual fantasies, if that’s what you’re after) in the overwhelming buzz of
city life. Over the past few years, dating and social media websites and
apps have provided a new sort of ‘hunting ground’ for those looking for
love, romance, or something a lot like them. Tapping into my personal
experience as well as those of fellow Capetonians, this article offers a
tiny snapshot of the vast realm of online dating in the Mother City.
Text by Nadia Krige
Illustrations by Quasiem Gamiet
It started with
a Twitter crush
It was just more than two-and-a-half years ago that my ‘Twitter
crush’ asked me out for coffee in the comment section of an Instagram photo of my cat. We’d been exchanging online pleasantries for about two months, and felt an uncanny connection in
the similarities of our Instagram feeds and overlap of interests.
Of course, it’s easy to fake these things online.
But luckily for us, it turned out really well, and we seemed to
have an endless stream of topics to discuss – so much so that
we chased our conservative afternoon cappuccinos with three
(large) beers each and a shared pizza, conversing well into the
night. The very next day we set out on our first adventure – a
snow-hunting day trip to Ceres – and we’ve been together ever
since.
My boyfriend and I regularly return to the spot we met IRL for
the first time, and giggle at the thought of us nervously sitting
there across from each other, two strangers wearing familiar
faces. A pair of avatars come to life – terrifying and exhilarating,
awkward and reassuring all at once.
In more serious moments we muse over that first meeting, and
wonder whether it would ever have happened had social media
not done Cupid’s work. The conclusion, for various reasons:
probably not.
Meeting online – is
there still a stigma?
In the late-20s/early-30s circles we move in, our story is considered relatively unique; more than a few of our friends find it
somewhat strange that two well-adjusted individuals ended up
‘having to turn to the internet’ to find love. Well, it’s not like we
were looking…
But even if we were, why would that be so weird? Especially
when so much of our time is spent online.
A recent study by We Are Social revealed that South Africans
tend to while away an average of five hours a day on the internet, which means that you stand a far better chance of encountering a likeminded individual in a Facebook comment thread
than at a braai or – heaven forbid – your local bar.
Despite the fact that over the past few years, meeting people
online – whether for professional, friendly, romantic or sexual
purposes – has become a much more widely accepted social
practice (especially among younger millennials), a measure of
stigma remains (especially among older millennials and their
seniors).
Echoing my own experience, 35-year-old Capetonian Helen
Westcott shared the following via email: “I can’t tell you how
many times people have said to me, ‘Why are YOU on online
dating – YOU don’t need to be on online dating!’ Usually while
poking me in the ribs.”
Helen was one of a number of people who responded to various social media calls and emails I sent out asking for real-life
online dating stories. Along with this, I cajoled colleagues and
bugged friends, and in the process, made a remarkable discovery.
While a variety of women were happy to spill the beans, the
men were altogether absent. Even when I asked those who
have been known to enjoy a batch of Tinder-swiping every now
and then, they simply shrugged, and said it was no big deal. And
they’d rather not participate.
I started getting flashbacks of the awkward ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’
my boyfriend tends to utter when asked about how we met …
and suddenly it all made sense: men (or maybe just the South
African variety) are still embarrassed to admit that they search
for – and sometimes even find – romance online.
Real-life stories – the
good, the bad and the
inventive. Be that as it
may, I’m delighted to
share a few of the reallife stories sent my way
by fellow Capetonians:
Anonymous
– a traveller’s perspective
Helen Westcott
– a return to organic over online
Fazielah Williams
– turning bad experiences into
bad-ass blog posts
“In an age in which the hook-up culture prevails, via dating
apps like Tinder, OkCupid and Datingbuzz, it’s a difficult task
to find The One,” says Fazielah, who started her blog series
‘How I Met Your Father’ when, on her 28th birthday in 2013,
her friends challenged her to complete 28 dates in a year. “I
obviously didn’t complete my challenge in a year, because I fell
in love, had my heart broken, and tried again – and so the cycle
continued.”
While her dating life is by no means limited to online connections, Fazielah says that her original rationalisation for finding
love or romance in cyberspace was that if she wasn’t meeting
any guys in the ‘natural’ ways, perhaps it was time to ‘order’ one
to her specifications online.
“I use Datingbuzz, OkCupid and Cosmopolitan Dating. I
tried Tinder for three days, and the blatant disrespect of some
of the ‘gentlemen’ on that site freaked me out, so I deleted my
profile.” Datingbuzz has become Fazielah’s chosen platform,
but she also hopes to try Elite Singles at some point, despite the
hefty subscription fee.
In the meantime, she’s found that it’s by no means as simple
as dress shopping on Superbalist, but “hope springs eternal for
this hopeless romantic, unfortunately”. Be sure to check out
her blog!
“These days I much prefer to meet people organically, through
friends, while out and about,” says Helen. Having learned that
– for her in particular, but probably for many out there – online
dating tends to be emotionally exhausting, she now prefers to
delve for a limited time frame now and then, rather than throwing herself down the well all in one go.
Having tried a variety of sites and apps over the years, Helen
has found OKCupid to work best for her, as a lot of effort goes
into setting up a profile, which in turn provides much more specific information about people. “I find it difficult to determine
whether I‘m going to be interested in someone based solely on
the way they look, so having an idea of what they like and don’t
like is useful.”
What Helen would like to see more of in the local online dating scene, however, is people signing up to sites or apps that will
help them to connect over music they like (TasteBuds is a good
example of this), and the pet hates they have in common (enter
a new app called Hater).
She reiterates, however, that meeting people organically is by
far the best option for her these days. “Go out more, and talk to
people. The spark you feel when you meet a person is almost
impossible to predict via algorithms and pictures.”
Kaylon Koeries
– let’s keep things light
A recent study revealed that
South Africans tend to while away
an average of five hours a day on the
internet, which means that you stand
a better chance of encountering a
like-minded individual in a Facebook
comment thread than at a braai or.
heaven forbid - your local bar.
As a 22-year-old gay man living in Cape Town, Kaylon doesn’t
take online dating too seriously, and isn’t looking for a relationship; but he enjoys using apps like Grindr, Tinder and Hornett
to meet up with people who pique his interest.
“I prefer Tinder, as not just anyone can engage with you – only
those you approve. You don’t get weird people messaging you
who wouldn’t interest you in the first place.” Interestingly, he
has found Tinder users to be less focused on casual hook-ups
and more interested in hanging out and getting to know people. “You’re more likely to end up going on a second date with
someone you meet on Tinder than anyone you find on Grindr.”
Currently he goes on three or four dates a month with online
connections.
A keen traveller, Anonymous reserves his use of Tinder for farflung cities and unfamiliar corners of the world. But probably
not for the reason you’d think. With the rise of carefully curated
top-10 things-to-do lists, and sponsored ‘influencers’ flooding
social media, he believes that it’s becoming more and more difficult to find a city’s best attractions that aren’t paying for the
accolade.
“Tinder has the ability to cut through the nonsense and deliver some of the best personal recommendations you could
wish for. Over the years I’ve been told about photographic
exhibitions in dimly-lit basements, unbeatable pintxos bars in
San Sebastian, the best ruin pub in Budapest, and I received
proposed walking routes and an unofficial weather advisory in
Vienna,” he explains.
If nothing else, these stories seem to prove that just as ‘there
are as many kinds of love as there are hearts’, there are as
many different ways to make online connections as there are
internet users.
Apps and sites to try
So – whether you’re looking for love, sex, romance or
friendship – if you haven’t felt comfortable with the
idea of venturing into cyberspace just yet, this could
be a good time to start!
Looking for a little light romance?
• Tinder – By ‘introducing’ you to people in your
vicinity, the app is infamous for the hook-up culture
surrounding it.
•Grindr – users are limited to gay men, and the app
is also associated with hook-up culture more than
relationships.
Want to take a chance on love?
Both these sites/apps require you to fill out a relatively
extensive questionnaire, making it more likely you’ll
find someone with whom you share interests.
• OkCupid
• DatingBuzz
Extramarital affairs
Yes, this is something people actually look for.
• VictoriaMilan
• Marital Affair
Try something new
• Hater – what could be more fun than laughing over
the things that really grind your gears?
This new app is definitely worth a try!
A few fun podcasts:
If you’re tickled by the idea of online dating, here are a
few great stories to listen to on the topic:
•Data mining for dates – A man reverse-engineers
OKCupid’s algorithms
• Love in bits – Dating back to 2005, this is about the
early days of dating sites
• Love in the Digital Age – The Sugars take on two
questions that explore different ways in which we try
to connect online.
Share your story
Do you have a story of finding
- or losing - love online?
Send your story to
[email protected]
10
MOLO february 2017
FEATURE
11
portrait of a city
THE great divide
We often hear the term ‘digital divide’ – but what does this mean for the average citizen of our city?
Text by Joey Vance
Images by Quasiem Gamiet
Text by Joey Vance
The connected city
The idea of the ‘smart city’ may have lost some of its shine in recent years, but
information technology is continuing to intersect with urban life in all sorts of interesting ways.
Text by Ambre Nicolson
Meet Kungawo
The sun is rising in Gugulethu, and its light
has begun to penetrate the patched roof of
Kungawo’s home. Soon, his room is illuminated, and he wakes up next to his wife, Rethabile. It’s Monday; but, since Kungawo has
struggled without success to find work, he has
little motivation to get out of bed. At the same
time, the twenty-two-year-old is thinking of
starting a family, and needs a steady source
of income. While the miscellaneous jobs he
has been doing in the township have allowed
him and his wife to survive, the couple require
more stability.
Kungawo understands that opportunities
are sparse in Gugulethu, so he wants to find
employment outside of the township. However, he is one of the 526 437 Capetonians
who does not have access to the Internet.
While he has a cell phone, like 58.8% of people in the Western Cape, he cannot afford
data. Kungawo’s inability to access the Internet compounds his job-searching difficulties.
Fortunately, Rethabile’s friend Junior lives
nearby, and is one of the 46.2 % of Capetonians who can access the Internet via cell
phone. At Rethabile’s urging, Kungawo decides to meet Junior so that he can take his job
search online.
Thirty-seven percent of South Africans own
a smartphone. Junior is one of them. When
Kungawo arrives at Junior’s home, they exchange greetings. Kungawo then timidly asks
to use his phone. Junior is happy to show him
how it works, but says that he cannot use the
phone’s data, because it is so costly. In fact,
South Africa’s Internet access ranks amongst
the most expensive in the world. Our median
monthly cost of R230 per Mbps was the highest of 62 countries surveyed in 2015. Instead
of lending him his phone, Junior gives Kungawo the address of an Internet café outside
of the township. Kungawo is reluctant to pay
for a taxi to the café, but feels the opportunity
to secure a job justifies the investment.
When Kungawo gets to the Internet café, he
wanders around the room perusing the various websites that others are browsing. It is all
very foreign. Kungawo is not one of the fortyone percent of South Africans who regularly
use Internet cafés. The rates are expensive for
him, but Kungawo is determined; he needs to
find work. He sits down next to someone who
is shopping online – but Kungawo wouldn’t
know. Only twenty-two percent of South Africans have ever purchased something online,
and he is unfamiliar with the concept.
As Kungawo deliberately presses each key,
he hears the online shopper’s rapid typing.
This is only the third time Kungawo has used
a computer. His search, ‘Jobs in Cape Town’,
yields results, but Kungawo becomes discouraged as he clicks through them. Almost all the
job descriptions state that to qualify for the
job, applicants must have a tertiary education
and some computer skills. Kungawo has neither. Perhaps his luck will be better if he returns tomorrow. However, Kungawo cannot
South Africa’s internet access ranks amongst
.
the most expensive in the world.
afford to taxi to and use the Internet café that
often, so he may just have to find other ways
of making money in Gugulethu.
Meet William
The grating beep of an alarm clock echoes
in William’s room; a new week has begun.
William awakes groggily, slams the sleep
button, and murmurs something about
hating Mondays. Like Kungawo, William
is twenty-two years old, and searching for
work. Unlike Kungawo, William recently
completed his tertiary education and already
has several attractive job offers. Today, he is
being interviewed by the Cape Chamber of
Commerce; an exciting opportunity.
After getting ready for the big day, he walks
downstairs and greets his parents. William’s
job search has not been that urgent, as he lives
with his parents, who support him financially.
They live together in Constantia. His parents’
home is the type that Kungawo will only ever
see from afar. The house, with its reflective
marble and tranquil garden, could be a
mansion, despite not actually being one. It is
also part of the 21.1% percent of households
in the Western Cape with internet access. As
a result, once William powers up his laptop
and smartphone, he can respond to emails
and do some last-minute preparation for his
interview. William must be optimistic about
his chances of getting the job, for having just
one of these smart devices means he is fiftyone percent more likely to be employed.
And William has two smart devices! Only six
percent of Capetonians can say that.
William not only has access to the latest
digital devices – he knows how to use
them. From 2001 to 2011, the percentage of
households in Cape Town with computers
increased from 8.5% to 21.4%, so for many
Capetonians, computers are a technology
about which they are still learning. This is
not the case for William. He has always had
access to the newest phones and computers.
As a result, he has developed a technological
proficiency. This will help him to secure a
job, as sixty-three percent of South African
employers consider computer literacy when
evaluating applicants. Given his educational
background and qualifications, William is
confident that the interview will be a success.
However, during his trip to the Cape
Chamber of Commerce, disaster strikes.
William’s car battery dies; he must have left
the lights on overnight. For Kungawo, who
is lucky to have one means of transportation,
such a mistake would be devastating.
However, William has alternatives. He is
part of the 41.3% of Capetonians who have
a phone with a 3G data plan, so he decides to
call an Uber.
William arrives on time at the Cape
Chamber of Commerce. Though he is a little
anxious, William also can’t wait to show his
interviewers that he is the man for the job. He
aces it; his technological prowess, resumé,
and connections all impress the CCC.
The job is William’s if he wants it, but he
must consider all his options – and he has the
time and support network to continue his job
search, if he so pleases.
From 2001 to 2011, the
percentage of households in
Cape Town with computers
increased from 8.5%
.
to 21.4%.
The life and
death of a buzzword
It’s 2010; and all around the world, in municipal meeting rooms
and corporate boardrooms, people are getting excited about
the idea of the ‘smart city’. Though cities have always relied on
human technology for their existence – you could argue that
the idea of a smart city started back in 1922, when the first automatic traffic light was switched on in Houston, Texas. But
mostly, when people use the term today, they’re talking about
how the fabric of our cities will be fitted with sensors, which
combined with broadband internet, results in the ‘internet of
things’. Automated ambulance drones! Intelligent parking meters! Citywide climate-control sensors!
Anthony Townsend, author of Smart Cities, argues that the
idea of the smart city has its roots in the 2008 financial meltdown. According to Townsend, giant tech companies such
as Cisco and IBM moved their focus away from big corporate
multinationals and started grafting this technology onto local
government platforms.
Proponents of the idea described futuristic and utopian visions of well-managed city resources, raised living standards,
economic development, and cleaner, safer and less wasteful
cities. Critics, on the other hand, wondered what it would
mean for ‘citizens’ to be replaced by ‘end users’.
Are smart cities
a dumb idea?
By 2012 the term ‘smart city’ was looking a little tarnished. The
criticism came in three broad flavours: critics saw the possibility of technological mishaps, privacy infringements, and societal control.
Firstly, if the whole city becomes a giant operating system,
what happens when it crashes? This may sound outlandish;
but in cities such as Songdo, in South Korea, almost all the
infrastructure – including roads, power supply, waste management and water systems – is operated remotely, employing electronic sensors.
Secondly, if all aspects of city life are monitored to the degree
that one can trace the route of an individual cyclist through
a city grid (possible at one time through London’s bike share
programme), what does this mean for privacy?
Thirdly, will smart cities actually undermine democracy, since
in the future they may have so much data that they no longer
require consent? Or, as the architect Rem Koolhaas put it, “The
citizens the smart city claims to serve are treated like infants.
We are fed cute icons of urban life, integrated with harmless
devices, cohering into pleasant diagrams in which citizens and
business are surrounded by more and more circles of service
that create bubbles of control. Why do smart cities offer only
improvement? Where is the possibility of transgression?”
So, what now?
Today, the definition of a smart city has broadened to include
city projects and policies that are more ad hoc and which may
not always rely on futuristic technological solutions, while still
encouraging connection.
Many of the enormous multi-billion-dollar schemes that so
piqued the interest of the likes of IBM have foundered. In their
place, Townsend sees the more piecemeal approach as a good
thing. “You build an open grid, you allow people to customise
the pieces of it that they have jurisdiction over, and you get this
fine-grained, resilient, vibrant kind of system with a lot of complexity – as opposed to a very controlled, hierarchical system
that’s actually fairly brittle when it comes under stress.”
In some cases, smart city hacks are not even about the future
– they’re about the past. In 2014, ScanLabs used 3D scanning
technology to interrogate the way two concentration camps in
the former Yugoslavia memorialise their pasts. Another way of
envisioning a smart city is by creating virtual models of cities
If the whole city becomes an
operating system, what happens when
.
it crashes?
as experiments. Simudyne is a city simulation company that
creates complex models for anything from natural disasters to
electrical blackouts. In this way, public officials can ‘practise’
before rolling out urban projects in reality.
In recent years, Medellin – the Colombian city once infamous
for the poverty of its favelas (slums) – has become the poster
child for social urbanism. The city invested in new infrastructure
in its poorest favelas, and has seen a remarkable integration
of these communities into the city. And the project relied
on analogue solutions such as cableways – not a smartphone
in sight.
Cape Town, like Medellin, is a city that does not have the
enormous budget of cities such as London or Barcelona, and
is also one of the most ‘unequal’ cities in the world. How can
Cape Town consider smart-city strategies, when vast swathes
of the city’s inhabitants lack plumbed toilets?
Cape Town
as a smart city
“We’re striving towards a Western Cape where every resident
in every town and village has access to affordable high-speed
broadband infrastructure and services and has the neccessary
skills to effectively utilise this infrastructure.” This statement
from the provincial government highlights not only Cape
Town’s current lack of digital access but also the fact that supplying such infrastructure is only half the story.
So far, Cape Town’s efforts towards becoming a smart city have
included rolling out public Wi-Fi, a broadband fibre network,
an open data portal, CCTV surveillance in the inner city, and a
smart power grid. Perhaps even more importantly, however, is
local government’s efforts towards providing adequate training
so that people can effectively use new infrastructure when it
arrives. Last year Nokia acknowledged Cape Town in its Smart
Cities Playbook, for the city’s commitment to providing the
necessary training to citizens so that they can take advantage
of digital opportunities in the future.
An important step for a city which is projected to be home to
five million people by 2030.
12
MOLO february 2016
YOU SAY
STREET TALK
What’s
the app
Cape
Town?
Maurietta Stewart
WhatsApp was
the first app I can
remember using.
Those two blue ticks
irritated me, because
then I knew that the
person had seen the
message and just
wasn’t replying.
I would miss
Pinterest the most! I
use it for everything
from fashion to
décor.
We asked you about your first apps, your
favourite apps and what you would miss
the most if the internet ceased to exist.
Text by Kaylon Koeries
Images by Ruby Zhao and Kaylon Koeries
Trevor Lee
Yvette Schuler
“Mxit – it was so much
cheaper than SMS. It saved
so much money.”
“WhatsApp was my first
app. It became the main
form of communication
– nobody picks up their
phone to call anymore.”
“I would miss everything! It
would feel like I was going
back to the Stone Age.”
“I would miss the
convenience of it all.
Everything is on there,
even books.”
Alex O’Donoghue
Carolyn
Willoughby
“My first app was a
photo editor. It was
so easy to
make my pictures
better, all of those
filters really changed
the way my pictures
turned out.”
“I would miss
Googling things –
especially when I’m
sick, and I want a
better idea of what
might be wrong
with me.”
“WhatsApp was the first app
I used – and I found it very
scary, because the volume
of communication had
increased so much. I wanted
to turn it off, but I couldn’t,
because nobody used SMSs
anymore. I liked it, but I felt
like I was trapped.”
“I’d actually be happy if we
didn’t need the internet
anymore, but I would
definitely miss Google. I
jokingly call Google my
digital god. I’m a very
curious person, I like that I
can ask any question and
immediately get various
sources – I don’t need to use
expensive books.”
Lesley-Ann Spero:
Ruwayda Isaacs
Google was the
first app I used, it
was so great to be
able to find anything!
Videos, music …
anything.
YouTube was the
first app I remember
using. I loved that I
could watch music
videos, and all these
little movies and
short films.
I would miss
WhatsApp the most.
It’s my connection
to everyone – that
would be my
gossip gone!
I would miss
WhatsApp the most
– it’s so easy to use,
convenient and
quick.
Ayanda Ngobeza:
“Mxit! I was on fleek! I
remember hiding my phone
under the blanket and being
constantly connected, it
was great!”
“I would miss the
convenience of shopping
online, and being able to do
almost anything from my
phone without having to
leave the house.”
Michelle Isaacs
“Candy Crush comes to mind,
but BBM was actually the first
app I ever used.”
“I’d miss Google the most –
Google knows everything.”