KenyaOnAShoeString: Real Advice for Real Kenyans

Spend a few minutes on Kenyan Reddit and you may walk away with the impression that every Kenyan earns upwards of KES 200,000, invests like a Wall Street trader, and casually thinks in U.S. dollars. Even when the topic is as grounded as rent in Kariobangi or the price of a phone, the responses often come wrapped in financial flexes. Dollars are quoted in a shilling economy, salaries inflated, and investments exaggerated. At first, it seems amusing, but the more you read, the more unsettling it becomes. If this is the digital space that Google increasingly serves us when we search for Kenyan solutions, what does it mean when exaggeration becomes the dominant voice of Kenyan reality online? The Performance of Wealth Kenyan Reddit thrives on a kind of performance. To admit to struggle, ordinary earnings, or living a simple life often attracts derision. For men especially, there is relentless pressure to appear financially successful. To be broke, or even to suggest that relationships m...

The other day, I was in a matatu . The radio was on, as it often is, and a caller was given the chance to share their truth. What did they choose to say? That they were sleeping with a mother and her daughter at the same time. The radio hosts laughed, entertained it, asked questions. The matatu passengers chuckled. And just like that, the ride went on. It struck me—not because of the scandal itself, but because this is the kind of content that dominates our airwaves. Morning shows, drive shows, late-night segments. Sex, scandal, cheating, love triangles, secret lives. And it isn’t just radio. On TV, online, even in comedy clubs, scandalous and sexual topics gather the biggest crowds. The more outrageous, the more viral. Scroll through YouTube and you’ll see “story time” confessionals that rack up hundreds of thousands of views—someone narrating their affair, their betrayal, their secret lives. TikTok trends erupt overnight around gossip. Tabloids and blogs thrive on the downfall ...