Adabi conference: Social media requires code of conduct

Speakers highlight power of Facebook for social growth

Amid global outcry over the abuse of personal data on platforms such as Facebook, speakers at a conference in the capital on Sunday called for creating a code of conduct for users to use these networks.

This was stated by speakers during the third and final day of the Adabi (Literature) conference at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on Sunday.

Speakers discussed how social media can play a positive role in the society. Given its wide-access, social media dominates everyday life and impacts the society, especially in the way it allows people to express themselves.

However, completely free expression, they pointed has led to problems and emphasised the need for developing a code of conduct to use social media websites.

In the wrong hands, they warned, these sites can prove to be very dangerous, as was discovered in the recent case involving Facebook leaking information of its users to third parties.

To avoid such cases, the speakers said that a code was critical.

This code, they said, would also put an end to the spread of propaganda and false information. The authenticity and creditability of information appearing on Facebook, Twitter and other websites, they claimed, was quite important.

The speakers suggested that educational institutions have a responsibility to create awareness amongst the youth as to how they could use social media to further their education.

Earlier, AIOU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui said that the varsity aims to address socio-economic issues through academic, literary and social activities.

The Adabi Conference, he said, was a part of the literature carnival which is now an annual feature to highlight the role of literature and language in societal reformation.

During the three-day literature carnival, altogether there were eleven working sessions which were attended by eminent writers, columnists and books’ publishers from all over the country.

The session was presided over by the National Books Foundation Managing Director Dr Inamul Haq Javed, who painted an optimistic picture of book reading habits, stating that the Foundation had published books worth Rs3350 million in a year.

Those who participated in the day’s deliberations included renowned writers Iftikhar Arif, Wajaht Masood, Zahida Hina, Manzar Naqvi, Fatima Hasan and Khurshid Nadeem.

AIOU Dean Social Sciences Dr Samina Awan thanked the participants for their active participation in the event that she hoped will contribute to the development of a knowledge-based healthy society.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2018.