Khairy: Culture of criticising on social media turning toxic

KUALA LUMPUR: The culture of criticising others on the social media is becoming toxic where the medium is full of messages of hatred which could bring down a person, says Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said this culture had become a phenomenon which emerged like a tsunami, making it difficult for the victims of condemnation to fend off slanderous postings which went viral on the social media.

Khairy said this culture was one of the five challenges affecting the younger generation now and it could become a time bomb which could explode anytime if no action was taken by the parties responsible, especially parents.

“The time has come for us to create some safe space online as there are too many negative messages on the social media. We no longer think of the feelings of others.

“I have no problems being criticised on the social media but how about others? Do they know how to overcome it?” he said at a news conference after opening the 2017 National Youth Research Seminar at the Putra World Trade Centre, here, today.

Khairy also said that the issue of social ills, sedentary lifestyle, addiction to the screen and mental illness had become challenges faced by the younger generation..

“We are now conducting a study led by a group of experts in psychology, neurology, medicine and communications to find the best methods to combat the problems. The seminar today is one of the steps towards the research work,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, Khairy warned of serious mental health issues among the younger generation and said one in five pupils was facing this problem compared to one in 10 in 2011.

“The rising statistic is due to public awareness on the symptoms of mental illness,” he said.

Khairy repeated the call for the Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) to forge proactive cooperation with the Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) as announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak in the 2018 Budget, especially in conducting social studies on the younger generation. -FMT