Samar Al-Haysouni
Social media websites have become a place where young men and women spend time. Some young men and women try to depict a perfect image of their lives and hide the ugly parts while others reveal very private matters that they should keep hidden. Both groups have become addicted to these websites and feel a lot of relief and happiness when they go online and talk about themselves and their families.
Contrary to what most of these young men and women think, social media websites can make them feel lonely and depressed and even make their problems worse. These negative effects have been validated and proven by several studies.
The real danger lies in the way Saudi youth use these websites. Any video, regardless of its content, can be uploaded on social media sites and be seen by thousands of people. Any remark, regardless of how offensive it might be, can be posted and read by thousands. You can easily talk to others, insult them and even swear at them if you want. There are no rules.
The sad thing is that most people do not respect the simplest rules of dialogue and conversation. What has happened to our youth? Are they trying to imitate the behavior of other cultures?
Undoubtedly, our youth are being targeted on these websites. Videos or posts with bad content are uploaded or placed online on purpose to instill negative ideas in the minds of our young men and women, teach them immoral values and encourage them to rebel against social norms and traditions.
What kind of penalty or punishment is imposed on those who abuse social media websites? I hope the punishment is not just prison. Prisons alone cannot correct the behavior of youth who upload such videos online. If a young man is caught and put in prison for uploading a video with improper content, he might not realize why he has been incarcerated. After all, he might have uploaded the video because he wanted to impress and attract others and become famous. He might not realize his mistake. I am almost sure most people who upload videos are young men who have too much free time and do not know what to do with it.
I am not trying to justify their actions. If someone makes a mistake, he should be punished for it. What I am trying to say is that more and more young men and women are not being watched by their parents and have too much free time. We need to educate them about the best way to spend their time constructively and help them get their lives back on track. Punishing them without reaching out to them won’t eradicate these negative practices.
We need to have boarding schools where such young men and women can enroll and be rehabilitated to become effective members of society.
