Global visibility excites Ethiopians, but digital exposure also means societal risks

The livestream of IShowSpeed in Addis Ababa drew a level of global attention Ethiopia has rarely received in recent years. Until that moment, I had never heard of him. A closer look at his reach made clear why the broadcast mattered.

He is one of the most influential figures in the contemporary digital ecosystem, and his presence in Ethiopia placed the country, briefly but unmistakably, at the center of a global online conversation. It was a reminder of how quickly digital visibility now travels, and how profoundly it can reshape perception.

That moment stood in sharp contrast to my own early encounters with how Ethiopia is often seen abroad. On my first day at a research institute in Germany, a colleague casually told me that his parents still kept a receipt from donating to famine relief in Ethiopia in the 1970s, then asked whether famine still existed.

Imagine hearing this on your first day as the only Black researcher in the office, trying to navigate a new environment. Over time, similar comments became routine during travels in Europe and North America. Some people even asked whether Ethiopia had universities, despite knowing I was there on a full scholarship for a master’s degree.

For many African students in Western countries, such questions are commonplace. Some people do not even know where Ethiopia is located. This experience is not unique to me; many Ethiopians encounter the same assumptions. Western media has long framed Africa almost exclusively through war, famine, and drought, presenting a narrow slice of reality as the whole.

Social media matters. Africa deserves more than a single story. For decades, the world has known Ethiopia largely through images of famine and poverty. Today, social media offers a powerful alternative, letting Ethiopians tell their own stories on their own terms. The world can now see the beauty of Addis Ababa, and that alone is remarkable.

Economic Dividends

The economic value of the IShowSpeed visit is undeniable, mainly for two reasons.

Ethiopia’s tourism sector was severely affected by COVID-19 and later by the Tigray war. This event sent a strong signal to the world that Ethiopia, at least Addis Ababa, is relatively peaceful and safe for international visitors.

One may argue otherwise, but the reality is simple: mass gatherings of this scale do not occur in the absence of basic security and a degree of stability. While it is too early to measure long-term tourism impacts, the resources spent on hosting this event were likely far lower than what Ethiopia would spend on global advertising campaigns.

For comparison, Rwanda reportedly paid over $100 million to Arsenal for an eight-year sleeve sponsorship to increase global visibility and boost tourism. The comparison is not perfect, but it is insightful when thinking about cost-effective image building.

The event also demonstrated Ethiopia’s capacity for digital connectivity, particularly in Addis Ababa. Reliable digital infrastructure is a prerequisite for attracting foreign direct investment, especially in banking, fintech, and service sectors. In this sense, the livestream functioned as real-time proof of digital readiness.

Human Capital

The global visibility generated by events like this comes with clear risks though, especially for a country where education and skills remain fragile foundations of economic growth. The influence of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube on young people is growing rapidly, often faster than institutions can adapt.

In Ethiopia, school dropouts have long been driven by poverty, distance to schools, conflict, and weak infrastructure. These constraints remain central.

Yet international evidence suggests that excessive social media use is also associated with depression and declining mental health, trends that can weaken engagement with education. In a context where millions of children are already out of school, even modest shifts in attention and aspiration can have serious consequences.

The public visibility of digital “success” adds another layer of risk. A small number of creators achieve global fame and income, but the probability of sustained success is extremely low. For some young people, these examples can make formal education appear slow, or expendable, even though it remains the most reliable path to long-term economic security.

When education loses value in the public imagination, human capital accumulation suffers. Reading, deep learning, and sustained skill development demand patience and delayed reward, qualities that short-form digital platforms do little to encourage. Over time, a decline in these habits carries consequences for productivity, innovation, and national development.

These pressures are compounded by low literacy rates and unequal access to opportunity. Only primary education is compulsory in Ethiopia, and adult literacy remains limited, with sharp regional and gender disparities. Without stronger educational foundations, expanded digital participation risks reinforcing inequality rather than reducing it.

Skills matter as much as access. Digital literacy must extend beyond basic platform use to include critical engagement, and long-term planning. Financial literacy is equally essential.

Many young people turn to online platforms in search of income without understanding budgeting, savings, taxation, or sustainability. Digital earnings, when they appear, are often volatile, and without financial discipline they rarely translate into lasting security.

Access itself remains uneven. Women are less likely to own smartphones or have reliable internet connections, and rural communities lag far behind urban centers. Closing this gap has well-documented social and economic benefits, from improved child health to delayed early marriage and reduced vulnerability to violence. Leaving these inequalities unaddressed will widen future divides.

Language skills also shape who benefits from the digital economy. Language acquisition is a form of human capital investment, undertaken with expected returns in mind. In a global online marketplace, English carries particular economic value.

Proficiency levels differ by profession, but visibility and reach on digital platforms increasingly depend on it. Investing in language skills expands opportunity, income potential, and participation in global conversations.

Taken together, these dynamics point to a central challenge. Digital exposure can amplify opportunity, but without parallel investment in education, skills, and equity, it can just as easily erode the foundations on which long-term development depends.

New Reality

To sum up, Ethiopian youth are increasingly prioritizing economic opportunity over political negotiations that offer little direct economic return. For decades, political discourse has revolved around ethnic or nationalist redistribution of power, often detached from tangible outcomes for a rapidly growing youth population.

As Yanis Varoufakis argues, we are moving toward a new form of capitalism—”technofeudalism”—where value is generated not through wage labor, but through algorithmic extraction. Unlike capitalism, users are not paid; instead, their data is extracted, analyzed, and monetized.

Similarly, Shoshana Zuboff warns that these algorithms extract personal information not only for profit, but also to shape behavior, posing risks to democracy itself. Whether we like it or not, we are training algorithms without compensation. Varoufakis calls us “cloud serfs”.

Resisting artificial intelligence and social media is neither realistic nor desirable. The real question is how to capture economic gains while minimizing social harm.

Times have changed. We must acknowledge this shift and respond with policies that harness the digital economy while safeguarding education, equity, and long-term development.

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While this commentary contains the author’s opinions, Ethiopia Insight will correct factual errors.

Main photo: IShowSpeed during a visit to Addis Ababa, January 2026. Source: social media.

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