The writer is a human geneticist who is currently engaged in public health work at Heartfile, Pakistan. She can be reached on twitter @mariammalik_
Why? Because the Indian youth does not need to make a living in Dubai anymore. They don’t need ‘bling-bling’ jobs in Dubai as they already have them in India. This abysmal contrast between the two neighbouring countries that we see today is partly because India was able to optimise solutions for its youth bulge and made staggering progress as a result. Pakistan, today, stands precisely at that tipping point.
With nearly 50 per cent of the total Pakistani population of 179 million individuals below the age of 20, Pakistan is currently home to its largest cohort of youth that could prove to be an asset to the country, the benefits of which could be reaped in the next four to five decades.
Social vulnerabilities, including unemployment and frustrations of this youth will ultimately cause plight to the economic welfare of the country. The mere fact that there are so many educated and aware jobseekers in the country indicates how much talent is out there and how little of that talent is being utilised. The future development goals of Pakistan can only be achieved by actively engaging our youth. This explains why the government and other development organisations are executing and funding various projects to empower these individuals as to utilise their talents to make social changes.
Why isn’t then the youth of Pakistan building their career on the internet, or learning online or writing publications? This is because the average Pakistani spends over two-thirds of his/her overall time online playing games or using social media sites. Instead of the positivity that can be created, the internet is currently pandering to the students addicted to social media which is thus having an unfortunate deleterious impact on vision, innovation, speech and exposure. It is actually damaging to a large sector of the gullible population.
Using the internet entirely for these virtues would ultimately result in it becoming a self-destructive device, rendering it impossible for any Pakistani to make use of the positive it can bring. Pakistan has a bottomless supply of young, ambitious artists and intellectuals, who would be thrilled at the prospect of learning incredible courses online, free of cost. All that it requires is the motivation and drive to stand out.
The internet is a free cornucopia of knowledge, skills and learning where the content is literally on our fingertips. It is unfortunate that this free and perhaps, the most vital resource of knowledge, which can foster creativity among the underprivileged citizens, is being taken for granted.
It is important to recognise that the internet is the most cost-effective vehicle of gaining knowledge which can add ‘experience’ to jobseekers’ portfolios, may it be while they are in schools, employed or while they are in their job-seeking sabbatical. Various websites on the internet offer free online courses that can facilitate in capacity building and skill strengthening. When compared to the cost of building vocational training centres, there is a stark difference with respect to cost, time and efficiency. In this era of self-learning, the internet serves as a unique resource for keeping us updated with the latest worldwide.
While it would benefit the urban population, its self-learning and virtual training tools would work exceptionally well in the rural settings where there aren’t enough human resources to spread the message. This is also where the development funding must also be directed. Exposure to the open infrastructure of the internet would be an important step in empowering these individuals who seek urban jobs. It saddens me to see that there is so much talent and passion in this country that is going unrecognised. The most accessible way to make most of the talent would be by utilising the greatest resource that’s at their fingertips — the internet. While the government is launching its youth schemes, the youth must also find ways of standing out at their individual level.
All that it requires is a click.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (28)
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great post
@Mariam Malik: GS@Y Dear Mariam, You make some good points, but I feel many young people will not be interested. Social events such as films and games are so much easier, and certainly more exciting. I recall my younger days before computers were ever heard of when young people from poor backgrounds, with low educational levels could not get jobs and preferred other interests such as playing cricket or tennis. I came from a poor background, could not afford a tennis racquet, and always had multiple jobs, working 365 days a year, to help my family initially, and later to pay for part-time education through to university. It was hard work, but it payed off, I had some lucky breaks, I was very healthy, and there is a certain masochistic pleasure in beating the system. I could get better jobs and started to acquire assets so that I am now reasonably comfortable in old age and retirement. However, I am torn between your comments and those of GS@Y. I have always enjoyed life, but have missed out on so much along the way. I feel that many young people would not wish to experience the lost youth and adult life that I went through. There is no easy answer to motivation and getting out of poverty. You require a certain mental disposition, opportunity, the ability to create openings, the right type of parents, and a reasonable IQ to lift yourself out of it. You are both correct.
Thank you for your comments, I am humbled by the interest. Please note that my objective here is specific. It is to urge the youth that do surf the internet to make better use of it. It is purely to derive interest in this specific population segment to stand out and optimize their time appropriately at their individual level. As much as I'd like to have addressed power-cuts and malnutrition in the country (given their due precedence), neither was the objective of this piece.
"This is because the average Pakistani spends over two-thirds of his/her overall time online playing games or using social media sites."
How extremely clueless and elitist of the author to think that her and her friends' lives represent the reality of the average Pakistani. In a country where where a staggering number of people live on less than $2/day and a third of the the children are malnourished, does she really think 2/3rd of the country are wasting time online? To say nothing of the complete lack of infrastructure to support such habits. ET should think long and hard about its editorial standards. What specifically do vague, meandering, sweeping musings like these add to the readers' knowledge? Frustrating!
@Bilal: "Pakistanis try to avoid the US because of the loose morals prevalent in that part of the world." Not really. My experience is otherwise. Most people I have talked to and from my personal observations in Dubai, I am of the impression that Dubai is no moral paradise. And, of South Asians, the Indians are a majority and they are more at home in Dubai than Pakistanis. Announcements, at the airport for example, are in Hindi. Urdu is rare. Some Pakistanis are under the false impression that they are more welcome in Dubai than the Indians. But clearly since there is more scope of well paid jobs in India, more Pakistanis are attracted to Dubai.
Good article, however, i would like to point out that not all time spent on Social Media is a waste. I run a group called Tech-Aches which aims at resolving tech related issues through shared knowledge. It discusses new ideas and products as well. Not only that, the power of the social media has also placed alot of the public officials to remain in line. So much so, that during the elections facebook was seen as a threat to some political parties.
Pakistan is currently home to its largest cohort of youth that could prove to be an asset to the country
Unless they all prove to be Strategic Assets
The average Pakistani neither has a computer nor Internet.
Indians applicants are usually head hunted via Linkedin or using professional management recruitment firms for jobs in the Gulf and across the globe, they are also transferred by MNC's to their various offices globally.
Indians (less educated lot) still contribute a large portion of the blue collar labor force in the middle east, that will reduce in the coming decades as more of them move into the middle class and find jobs in India itself.
Already the cheapest source of blue collar labor for the Gulf nations are Nepal and Bangladesh followed by Pakistan. Indians are getting priced out (which I think is a good thing) .
"Why isn’t then the youth of Pakistan building their career on the internet, or learning online or writing publications?"
the answer to the first one is you get jobs in Pakistan on the basis of social connections no matter how educated you are if u are not well connected even getting a reasonable job to make ends meet is difficult forget about a career job i ve seen people having M Phil waiting at gates of private schools for jobs carrying a salary tag of 20000 in these times remember this is coming from someone who is unemployed for 5 years and there isnt a place in the city where u don't find my CV
the answer to the second question is for getting published what one writes again u need connections otherwise the dustbin is the place where it always ends
"This is because the average Pakistani spends over two-thirds of his/her overall time online playing games or using social media sites."
What does average Pakistani mean? I believe average Pakistani does not have access to luxuries like computer and good internet connection. Also availablity of electricity to keep the machine running is a big problem and then if you include the rural population in "averaging a Pakistani, then the stats may be more interesting.
Pretty spot on. Also google trends reveal more shocking trends of Pakistan. Think of anything bizzare and just search for its trend and Unfortunately Pakistan is taking top three spots in any of the disgusting search. Internet is a blessing for us but for Pakistanis it is turning into a curse
http://www.google.com/trends/
As a person who has worked a lot with youth and motivating them to do more; the current depressive mindset prevalent in the economics/future outlook of people + the seth culture+ the VIP culture + security issues are hardly a conducive environment for producing anything;
Videogames/online chatting are just one form of escape; the other one is young men/women dropping out of school to go work at a mobile shop for quick money; I do not thinking deriding the youth without mentioning the overall soci-economical situation is a valid argument; there are documented reasons so why there is low productivity in Pakistan as a nation
So why doesn't the Government, along with other countries, use the Internet as a low cost way of training people? Although educational academies undoubtedly have their uses they are not essential, and this applies particularly to would be students who are poor or live in outlying areas. Obviously, those people making a dollar/rupee out of the current system do not like the idea.
I wonder if the youth loan form is available on the Internet? :)
Youth should stand out on their individual level; you just can rely on government schemes many of which are shady. Wasting of productive time on social media sites is a global issue, both at home and at workplace. Many companies restrict access to such sites and even advise employees to refrain from using them during work hours. It a bad addiction, and I myself fall victim to this addiction, wasting precious productive hour grazing twitter feed and Facebook wall.
@pakistan Khan im enrolled in at least 5 EDX and 3 MIT online courses..i use hotspot proxy...i don't understand why more Pakistanis are not benefiting from such free and quality course..
How can the youth of Pakistan make better use of internet if the ruling elite keeps banning useful sites. Maybe they fear educating the youth will expose their dirty secrets and bring about a change in the 'mindset' of the youth which cannot be good for the politicians and the mullahs and the army.
I agree whole-heartedly with the author that too much time is wasted on the internet. Though I don't understand the Dubai diss at the outset of the article. Indians have their own new Dubai: silicon valley. They go there in droves, to avoid living in India. However, Pakistanis don't go to Dubai out of need. There's a shared culture, religion and ancestry which allows Pakistanis to live in complete comfort in Middle Eastern countries. On the other hand, Indians don't feel quite at home and since India offers limited opportunities for advanced training and placement in the sciences, they are relegated to pursuing MS/PhD in the US to land jobs there. Talk to Indians and they'll tell you they feel as welcome and loved in the US as they are in India. Shameful indeed! Pakistanis try to avoid the US because of the loose morals prevalent in that part of the world. Dubai is a better, more moral, and more natural destination for us, and if the Indian diaspora is increasingly leaving the Middle East, that's more pie and "bling-bling" jobs for us as far as I'm concerned. Marhaba!
Don't worry. This is not just Pakistan but the whole world is suffering from this illness. Other countries like in the West much more so. Though I agree that we should be at the forefront of combating this illness
I used to benefit from video lectures of professors from Harvard, Yale, Columbia etc on Youtube. But thanks to our inefficient and crazy government, I am no more able to access them. This country is run by corrupt and inefficient elites who are incapable of making effective policies and have complete disregard for the demands of common people. In such a scenario, what are young people supposed to do !!!
There is only one thing which lacks in Pakistani nation and that is "will to learn".Here in this immensely talented nation every one thinks that he knows everything or does not need to learn any more.Wasting time on internet is just one aspect.
Two third are spent on social networking and online games and the rest one third ,you know what they do ;)