Professor Toyin Falola, a historian at the University of Ibadan, cautioned that social media can create a false sense of connection while failing to provide the depth of relationships needed for mutual support. He made the remarks during a lecture titled “Globalisation and Social Clubs” at the Ibadan Social Group’s Golden Jubilee anniversary on Saturday. Falola argued that digital platforms are designed to encourage participation rather than solidarity. “Platforms are built for involvement, not solidarity, and these are not the same thing at all,” he said. “They are incredibly adept at providing the emotion of social contact, the hit of recognition, the sense that you have been seen, while consistently failing to provide the content of it.” He warned that people can spend hours on social media or accumulate hundreds of professional contacts without having anyone to turn to in times of serious personal or professional difficulty. Falola noted that the decline of face‑to‑face associations has broader consequences for community life. “Neighbourhood groups, professional societies, civic clubs and other voluntary organisations have traditionally provided spaces for people to build trust, exchange knowledge and sustain relationships beyond family and commercial interests,” he said. According to Falola, globalisation has weakened some of these structures, while digital platforms offer convenient but often less demanding alternatives. He likened the experience to a form of social consumption that offers immediate satisfaction but may lack the substance of enduring human relationships. He also highlighted the pressure to remain mobile and competitive in the global economy, which can make long‑term community involvement more difficult. “The individual who lives in one location, who forms connections slowly over years, who invests in local institutions over decades, is less competitive, by the operational logic of the global economy, than the person who chases opportunity wherever it materialises,” he said. He added that this trend could leave individuals professionally accomplished but socially disconnected. Falola maintained that social clubs remain important because membership involves more than visibility or maintaining a list of contacts. It requires reciprocity, continuity and a willingness to contribute to the lives of others. “A member is not merely a user or subscriber but someone whose participation creates responsibilities and expectations within a community,” he explained. He argued that physical institutions can offer the depth of engagement that online platforms struggle to reproduce through repeated conversations, shared activities and relationships built over time. He clarified that his point was not to reject technology but to caution against treating digital communication as a complete substitute for meaningful social interaction. Falola challenged social organisations to demonstrate the distinctive value of meeting physically and sustaining relationships over time, stressing the need to ensure that expanding digital connectivity does not come at the expense of genuine human solidarity.