Friday 29 November 2013

Rural youths told to be wary when accessing Internet


SIBU: The youth, especially those from rural areas, need to be cautious when accessing the social media, Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah cautioned yesterday.

He advised them to vet the information and not take them at face value.

“This is because the dissemination of untruthful news, incitement, pornographic materials, malicious and defamatory information could also be done by just a click of the `mouse’.

“They must know how to evaluate and analyse the information so as not to be hoodwinked,” he stressed.

Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman, said this in support of Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s call for social media to be utilised wisely.

In his winding-up speech on Wednesday, Taib reportedly said if social media was not used properly and wisely, it could bring more bad than good to society.

Adding on, Abdul Karim said social media and the ‘double sided sword’ were closely akin.

“It is a useful tool if used correctly but it could also be a tool of destruction if abused.

“In the present high tech world, one would be left behind if one did not equip oneself with the advancement and knowledge of IT,” he explained.

He said it was a tool of knowledge and communication and a tool to disseminate information.

“An event or news that happened in Malaysia can immediately be known in UK or US in a split second.

“This is unheard of before the 90s. Books, letters now are getting less relevant. This advancement in technology has brought a lot of good to the development of the nation and its people.

“However, apart from their positive effect, Internet and social media have their negative effects,” he said.
   

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