A demand has been made in the Senate, the highest legislative body of Pakistan, to ban the use of social media by children under the age of eighteen, which can be called the voice of the times. In the last two sessions of the Senate, a demand has been made to ban the use of social media by children under the age of eighteen. Presenting a notice calling attention during this important meeting, a woman senator, Falak Naz Chitrali, took the position that “in our dear country, people under the age of eighteen, the vast majority of whom are youth, are using social media platforms without any legal restrictions, which is affecting the mental capacity of these children.”
In this regard, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that “urgent steps need to be taken to protect children under the age of eighteen from the dangers of social media.” However, it is not understandable that the government itself says that urgent steps need to be taken. The government should have taken practical steps on this before bringing this matter to the Senate. According to him, “This is a national issue and it should be sent to a standing committee.” He knows very well that when an important issue or task needs to be resolved, it is handed over to a committee where the ground is a matter of “Janbad Nah Junbad”. For years, issues remain in the files of the committees demanding attention. On this occasion, Senator Fawzia Arshad said regarding the subject, “Social media has become a serious problem for parents, we have to work together on it and there should be counseling on it in educational institutions.” On this occasion, Senator Sherry Rehman said, “This issue is very important, in this regard, the guidance of this House is also needed, the intervention of provincial governments is also necessary, we need to look at every aspect of social media.” On this occasion, Senator Afnanullah Khan said, “I have submitted a bill in the House regarding data protection, this bill should also be included.” There have been many things said in this regard, the length of which this column cannot bear, but it is important to state that the senators have seen only one aspect and have not shown generosity.
The fact is that the use of social media in Pakistan has become so common that things that should not be brought to the public are also being brought to the fore. Crossing the limits of morality, such posts and videos are being made viral that God forbid. There is no one to ask questions. Instead of stopping this nonsense, all the effort is being spent on rounding up the workers of a party. The path of such criticism is being blocked, which is not 100% negative, but the style of expression can be discussed.
The truth is that from day one, Pakistan's legislators and institutions have not realized how effective social media is, which even makes governments move, those who have the weapon of social media win wars psychologically. In our neighboring countries, Afghanistan, India and Iran, the war of social media is also affecting the rulers. The change in Bangladesh was due to a video and a picture, where the blood of a young man changed the map of the country. India resorted to false propaganda to such an extent that its pride was completely washed away. In Iran, although the use of social media is banned and internet service has also been shut down, millions of people took to the streets and caused immense damage to government and national property and a large number of people lost their lives, but now there is some silence. Iran, regardless of the inflammatory words of the US President, has also responded strongly to US propaganda at the cyber level and cyber attacks have also been thwarted. The point is that if our institutions want, they have such a mechanism that they can ensure the responsible use of social media. Social media accounts can be made responsible through measures like national identity card number, location, and verification of two guarantors. In addition, this topic should be discussed on a daily basis in educational institutions. Our teachers have to play their role. Everyone will have to be serious about how to stop those who target national institutions and important personalities from abroad. Although a large number of people use social media correctly, such a mechanism is necessary regarding controversial posts so that incendiary posts with Islamic references do not become the adornment of social media and such strict action should be taken against those who cheat and rob people through social media so that they do not dare to do it again. Their mobile phones can be disabled. Millions of such mobile phones are used but no one is caught, I do not know why the institutions keep quiet after just giving a report. When will the rulers and those responsible wake up and there will be a way to strictly implement it. The people are waiting and the rulers are in a state of sleep.
