Social Media and Freedom of Speech – The Both Sides of the Coin #YouTubeBan

Whenever something new is about to happen or invented, there will always be a wide span debate over it with different views; some would be in favor of it and some not, while some will be neutral. It’s a natural process; sometimes egos are involved, sometimes politics but sometimes farsighted wisdom is involved.

When Cinema was first introduced, there must have been a strong opposition, not only by the religious groups but from the general public too, especially elders. Now we won’t get into the debate on what is right and what is wrong, I am just trying to explain a natural process that happens every time when something new is introduced. Part of this process is that if you find this new thing to be destructive in nature for the society, you oppose it strongly; you leave no stone unturned to stop it from happening; some people will try to stop verbally and some would turn violent – again not debating on right or wrong. But with opposition, there will be a group in favor too, so it will be a battle; one group will try to stop it while the other group will do the opposite.

Now if the opposing group fails and this new thing succeeds in getting public support and gets launched, now the focus of this opposing group should be on regulation rather than vengeance. Now let me explain in more detail.

There shouldn’t be any doubt that media and social media has done enormous damage to the society, not only religiously but as a whole. But, there are some very positive aspects too and that is the reason why this age is called a digital age, and media along with social media is booming day by day. There are tremendous learning opportunities, platforms for skilled people to showcase their talents, earning opportunities, abundance of information etc. People who were against media and social media were right in their perspectives as they were aware of the substantial drawbacks. But, the opposing period is way over now; we are at a point of no return. We can’t close down the internet, but we can regulate and spread awareness on the pros and cons.

BANNING APPS

There has been a huge debate on the recent developments over banning of some apps in Pakistan, especially PUBG and the recent remark of a Supreme Court Judge on banning YouTube.

First of all, regarding YouTube, it was a mere remark of the judge with no such intention but we made RAI KA PAHAAR. And ironically, the reaction from the other side was the same as pointed out by the judge; what the judge said was that some people cross the boundaries while criticizing their judgments and it is true to some extent, and people proved it by their reactions on his remark. Name shaming, bullying, abusing and what not; people went too far for just a mere remark. There was no need for the reaction, it wasn’t a judgment or an order to ban YouTube, it was a simple conversation which should have been ignored. Even youngsters forget all the ethics; criticism should also be within limits, be it a judge, a doctor, a teacher or even a politician; criticize but don’t abuse or shame them and their families; especially we youngsters should remember that we are pointing to an elder whose respect is an obligation upon us.

I am in favor of regulation, it happens all around the world; but also if something is deemed harmful, whether for security purpose, religious purpose, culturally etc., then banning should also be an option. It’s simple, every app or website has pros and cons, weigh them and decide accordingly. For example, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many other social profiles should never be banned until there is a strong evidence of any malice; but something like TikTok or PUBG is a matter of debate. But like I said, we neither have to be far right nor far left; there should be strict SOPs and monitoring but also enough flexibility to utilize the positive aspects of the platform too. If something is more damaging than constructive, then it should be banned. For example porn, it should be banned. It’s that people would still be watching porn through VPNs or other means, but at least a strong hindrance will be of some effect. Just like wearing a face mask won’t wipe out Coronavirus but it will help to slow down the spread along with acting as an awareness tool.

IT’s PARENT’s RESPONSIBILITY

One such argument from those who oppose banning is that it should be solely parent’s responsibility to control their children. While it is true that parents have to play a strong role but it is wrong to say that they are solely responsible. It’s a collective responsibility of not only parents or state but of friends and loved ones too. Parents can only control up to an extent and besides, either both the father and mother is busy earning money or majority of our parents are not tech savvy and have no idea how to filter their children’s gadgets and monitor them. Also, the young kids deceive their non-tech parents into believing that they are studying online. Poor parents will bear the expenses of internet connection and expensive gadgets thinking that they are necessary for their child’s education, while the child has a completely different agenda.

So, along with the parents, the state should also take productive steps towards monitoring the use of internet among the youth, but like I mentioned above, banning is not always the solution to everything. Temporary bans are ok if there is an action plan in working in order to regulate, but permanent banning shall not be an option all the time.

So, the bottom line is that we all should play our individual role towards a progressive use of technology. The world will move forward, not back, so we have to adapt to the available resources as per our culture and religious practices while exploring and adopting other’s productive features too. The state should regulate and also spread awareness, especially to the elders on how they can monitor their children.

And the social media users should also show respect and dignity towards others, especially the elders. HOW WE SAY is more important than WHAT WE SAY. And don’t forget that our elders are not tech savvy because they were not born in a tech era; give them some space and benefit of doubt; just because we know how to use a gadget doesn’t makes us superiors; the respect of elders should always be intact. I am not saying that the elders are always right, but if they are wrong, it doesn’t allow us to demean them. Respect them the way you want to be respected when you become an elder.

Your freedom of speech doesn't mean insulting and abusing others.