Chapter 5: South African proverbs on social media: Advancing creative digital content

There are rich theoretical and conceptual perspectives within the indigenous African folklore, such as proverbs. However, young African language speakers tend to be sceptical of the significance of proverbs in modern society. This chapter argues that proverbs have a role to play in contemporary society. Despite being crafted centuries ago, proverbs frequently embody enduring, objective truths and universal wisdom that remain relevant in today’s world. Although there is evidence of the use of proverbs on social media platforms such as Twitter (now known as X), Instagram and Facebook, there is little evidence of studies that focus on the contemporary use of South African proverbs on social media. This chapter draws from social media platforms to advance the use of proverbs as digital content. This chapter used crowdsourcing methodology as an open call for the public to collaborate and participate in research problem-solving. Through crowdsourcing on the Facebook pages Sešego: Pukuntšutlhaloši ya Sepedi and Tshivenda Proverbs, data were collected and analysed from virtual communities, online texts and interactive chatrooms, that is, online ethnography. Individual Facebook, Instagram and proverb posts were randomly selected through the search bar. Data collected on social media are presented here as efficient vehicles for the maintenance and transmission of proverbial knowledge among different languages, therefore proving that proverbs are as current in use as they have ever been. Using proverbs on social media is a great way for young people to communicate in a culturally rich and meaningful way. It encourages the speakers to learn about proverbs and to use proverbs that reflect the values and beliefs of their own culture.