SAUDI ARABIA

Campaign to block social media 'celebrities' launched

January 09, 2018

Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH
— Activists, journalists, preachers, academics and a large number of concerned authoritative figures have taken a decisive action recently on social media platforms by calling to block the so-called social celebrities because of their “bad influence” ruining the youth.

The social media campaign has since then gained steam with thousands of tweets in the last two weeks.

Mashari Althaydi, a writer and blogger, in his recent column termed the trend as dangerous. He said: “The more dangerous aspect is about the future of values which govern logic and reasoning. Who is supposed to lead who and upon what basis? How do families, schools and people in general maintain the glue of values that hold the society together?”

He added: “They went as far as claiming that if it hadn’t been for their Twitter activity, the lives of the people would not have changed for the better. Frankly speaking, some official parties and major companies helped turn these people into “stars” and “symbols” by pumping millions into their bank accounts in exchange of making few tweets or snapchat stories.”

Instead of being captivated by true talent, today’s society is drawn to the opposite approach where “celebrities” are portraying unrealistic lifestyles, which may appear simple, but leave the average person seeing false actions, said Dr. Hazim Al-Nugali, an academic.

He told Saudi Gazette that a role model can be characterized as a person who is looked up to by others as an example to be imitated. He explained: “Social media gives you the freedom to share your thoughts with thousands of people around the world. But freedom comes with responsibility, and when you post the wrong stuff, it could end up offending a lot of people. Especially when you’re a public figure, things could quickly go downhill with a single mistaken post.”

Dr. Al-Nugali noted that the rise of “social media famous” young people in Saudi Arabia is causing concern. Like any other part of the world, Saudi youngsters are avid users of social media platforms; Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Activists called on the Ministry of Trade and Investment to monitor their advertisements and to hold accountable those who publish false propaganda. However, the danger lies not only in this aspect; but social experts and psychologists believe that young people and adolescents make these people vulnerable and influenced by them.

Meanwhile, Majed Qaroub, noted lawyer and an expert in cyber crimes, warned that those people who have launched blocking the accounts of social media celebrities campaign could face law suits and will be placed on a list of abuse and defamation.


January 09, 2018
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