Haseena Moin recalls the joy of turning pages of a book in a ‘Facebook world’

KARACHI:

Holding a book in your hands, turning its pages, feeling the characters and losing yourself within the story is the beauty of a book that no other thing in this world can replace, said writer Haseena Moin.

She was speaking at a session on ‘Kitabi Chehre se Facebook tak: Reading in the Age of TV and Social Media’ on the second day of the sixth Karachi Literature Festival.

“Nothing can replace the feeling of turning the pages of a book,” she said. Where people spend hours after hours on Facebook, I will recommend reading at least one book a week, she suggested.

Her fellow panellist, poet Amjad Islam Amjad, admitted the present age is that of technology. “The communication gap between parents and children has changed into a generation gap,” he said. “The solution to cater to this change in attitudes is to sit and talk about the increasing distances in your living rooms.”



Writer Asghar Nadeem was more positive about new technology. When cinema came, the importance and value of theatre did not demolish, he pointed out. Similarly, the emergence of social media cannot overcome books, he said.

Complaining about the faults in our education system, Nadeem explained that our schools and universities have to change their approach because they are just spreading information not knowledge.

Actor Neelofar Abbasi of Shahzori fame spoke about how Facebook helped her find her missing friends from school and college. “Today, Facebook is helpful for authors to market and promote their books, which they can’t publish,” she pointed out, adding how online readership has increased.

Talking about the uses and misuses of Facebook, writer Zaheda Hina felt every invention has its merits and demerits. She compared it to the use of a knife, which can be used as a household appliance as well as a weapon to kill someone.

Moderator Syed Nusrat Ali concluded the session with a brief summary of the discussion. Books and social media are not exclusive but they complement each other and both are helpful to the younger generation in their respective mediums, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2015.