Don’t be depressed by what you see on social media -Bimbo Akintola

Actress, Bimbo Akintola, has advised people not to be depressed because of what they see on social media. According to her, most of the things on social media are fake.

She told Sunday Scoop, “I think that people need to work more on themselves. If you judge your life based on what is happening on social media, there is a huge problem. 

It is called social media for a reason. 90 per cent of the things seen on social media are not real. We all have different paths to follow in life. 

One should learn to judge oneself by one’s standards and not by other people’s standards. Many people need to sit down and rethink their lives because if social media is your criteria for success, then there is a huge problem.”

Speaking on some of the changes she would like to see in the movie industry, come 2021, Akintola said, “I would like us to have better structures and government participation at all levels. Once there is a structure, everything that is bad can be rectified.”

Reacting to people who had the perception that Nollywood movies were subpar, the actress insisted that the industry had improved. She said, “I cannot make comments on people’s personal opinions. 

If anybody feels Nollywood movies don’t have substance, that is their opinion. Somebody else could watch the same movie and say it was suspenseful. However, if you are talking about the technical quality of our works, I believe we have improved.

 We are light years ahead of where we were about 20 years ago. If anybody thinks our stories are not good, I would have them know that worldwide, there aren’t that great stories. I think Nigeria is doing well when it comes to the quality of our stories. We have many stories that we have not even started talking about. Once a structure is in place, I believe the sky would be the stepping stone to other creative things.”

Asked to share some of her past Christmas experiences, Akintola said, “My family is close knit and we (my sisters, mum, dad and grandchildren) always spend Christmas together. All my Christmases have being fantastic because I was always with my family members. Since I was a child till now, all my Christmas experiences have been great.

“However, this year has been a dark one because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of innocent protesters. So, for me, Christmas was like a little light at the end of the tunnel, even though there is now a second wave of the pandemic.”

The actress also added that she was looking forward to a 2021 with no coronavirus. “I would be excited if there is no coronavirus in 2021. That is the only thing I can think of. I am so worried about the fact that there is a second wave of the pandemic out there now. Nigerians have just been very lucky because people are not staying safe. Many lives could have been lost but God has been great. However, we also have to play our part by adhering to the safety guidelines laid out by the authorities.”