Attendees of the lecture on social media delivered by Director of Ibn Khaldon Center for Social and Human Sciences Dr. Nayef Nahar Al Shammari at Qatar University yesterday. Pics: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Doha: Social media is a blessing in this era providing a direct communication platform to all people including the public for expressing their opinions and raising their voices on the issues which are related to them.
“It is a great tool for freedom of speech and to follow the local and international news about the latest developments,” said Director of Ibn Khaldon Center for Social and Human Sciences, Dr. Nayef Nahar Al Shammari.
He was delivering a lecture on ‘Social Media: Does it Create or Reveal our Personalities?’, organised by Ibn Khaldon Center for Social and Human Sciences of Qatar University at the campus yesterday.
The event was attended by a large number of faculty, students, educationists and experts. With valuable interventions of audience, the lecture was converted into a healthy interactive session discussing different aspects of social media for hours.
Giving benefits of social media, Dr. Al Shammari said that the platforms provide different opinions and arguments with evidences to the users.
“There are some negative perspectives towards social media which are true partially because the social media platforms have negative impact on human being if they are misused,” said Dr. Al Shammari.
However, he said, it is great achievement for human beings if it is used positively.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the event, Dr. Al Shammari said that social media reveals the personality of a person who is unable to speak because of social barriers.
To a question about the importance of the topic of discussion, he said: “The subject is related to creating awareness among the community. The community awareness is being made mainly on social media, therefore comprehensive dialogues engaging all parties are needed to create awareness about social media.”
He said that social media develops a sense of criticism, provides different opinions on an issue and more freedom of speech. Explaining further to the audience the subject of the lecture, he said: “We should agree that a human being behaves differently at social gatherings and when he/she is alone.”
He said that when a person is alone he can act as he wants to but in social gatherings he behaves in a way that he should be respecting people around him.
“This depends on the condition of a person when he is using social media – whether he is alone or in social gathering.”
“When a person is using social media and his sense of being in a social gathering is missing then he starts behaving as if he is alone some times,” said Dr. Al Shammari.
Usually, he said, a person becomes more daring in criticising someone behind them compared to be in front of him. “This is what's happening when he posts a comment on social media.”
He also highlighted another point that human being changes with the changes of their social circles. For example, he said, when a person is doing a job his personality is different from when he starts a business.
“If he travels you will find a different personality, likewise the changes which occur in people after marriage.”
He noted that most of the people change with changes of their social circles, however very few people remain unchanged in all conditions because of their nature.
“Social media is also one the social circles of human being, so it is not strange that a person’s behaviour changes while using social media,” said Dr. Al Shammari.
He concluded the lecture by saying that such events are very important to educate the community about the useful uses of social media.
“A series of interactive sessions and workshops by authorities concerned are needed to discuss all aspects of social media to make this platform useful for the community,” said Dr. Al Shammari.
