Media and our youth

Are we producing a future generation — obsessed with fame and glamour — as presented by the TV channels and social media, without caring where it will lead them to?

Today, the issues promoted by TV channels in the name of entertainment, fuelling the fire with merely zero productivity, lacks morality which in turn puts our cultural values at risk.

With the influx of social media, gathering content from any source and presenting it to a larger viewership is on our fingertips. YouTube is one among the many ways notoriously famous for spreading such videos, many of them have turned out absolutely fake. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism in place for the accountability of such content creators and its broadcasters.

Exposed to this distressing dilemma, the young generation is heading nowhere. So in order to keep our future safe and sane, we need to be very careful about what is presented on television and social media so as not to mislead people.

Madiha Mansoor,

Karachi

Gender inequality

Imagine getting treated unkindly and unfairly every day, how would you feel? Well, this is a real-life situation for some people. Why are some people treated better or worse than others by fellow human beings? What goes on in people’s minds that lead to discrimination against others? Why aren’t we trying to fix this problem?

There are many types of inequalities like social, religious and gender inequalities, but here I want to draw the focus upon gender inequality. Firstly, all human beings are born equal, regardless of their gender, race or colour. But around the world today, girls are not given the same opportunities as those offered to boys.

While we have come a long way as the human race, there is still much to be done to ensure that the future generations reject ideas and influences that promote gender inequality.

I believe there are three ways of achieving this. The first one starts at home where parents need to teach and influence their children to accept all humans, all genders, rich or poor, of any colour, race or religion, as equal, just as they were created. This is not only a message for mothers, daughters and sisters, but also for the fathers, sons and brothers reading this.

Secondly, the primary education which moulds how a young person develops needs to have specific inclusion in its curriculum to teach children about universal human equality.

Lastly, in the age of social media, ideas of inequality need to be rejected and influencers need to emphasise the benefits that equality bring to society and the human race.

As Susan B. Anthony said: “Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.”

Zoya,

Karachi

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 15th, 2020