MEMBERS OF Parliament might be chewing more than they can swallow by taking on social media platforms. The honourable members are worried by the fast growing social media community that is being misused and has become fertile ground for immorality and harmful propaganda. Their worries are legitimate, but unfortunately bringing social media to order is a very tall order. Its reach and capacity to propagate both positive and negative views is enormous and scary. Unless one went down Turkey’s route of blocking access to errant media platforms, the net will forever remain untameable. Even then, tech savvy geeks will always find a way to circumvent all kinds of regulatory roadblocks. Policing the internet is a very costly affair that even the most technologically advanced countries are still walking in the dark. One can imagine the headache it would cause the government if it attempted to regulate the over six million cell phones in operation country wide. As the Minister in charge of Information Communication Technology (ICTs) told the lawmakers, the only available option of countering the social media menace is through sensitisation to promote responsible usage of the platforms and the gadgets. And that begins with parents. What do they expect when they give their 10-year olds expensive smart phones with unfettered access to the net? Who will they blame when their children become fodder to unscrupulous social media residents? That is where the fight should be directed and not to the free-to-download social media applications.
