Digital platforms changing minds

DIGITAL platforms have drastically changed the way the young are interacting today, says Jubilee Catholic Secondary principal Bernadette Ove.
“Today, you can hardly find students taking or finding time to read a book in school. Hopefully, this will be addressed with the introduction of the citizenship and Christian values education subject,” Ove said at the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) weekly chat room programme on Wednesday.
The topic for discussion was “Word Communications Day: From Social Network Communities to the Human Community”.
Another guest speaker, Marianville Secondary principal Monica Keanga, said the influence of social network platforms was very real and could be detrimental to a student’s life.
“Since 2008, I have seen a rise in the number of disciplinary cases brought before me, including expulsion of students,” she added.
Lead speaker Nigel Akuani said: “In digital communities, people live in a fantastical world where responses, reactions and interactions all occur in mind, not in person. In a human community, all interactions are physical and happen here and now, face-to-face.
“Physical interaction is important because we get to express intimacy and empathy that are necessary for human discourse.
Humans are social beings and need to coexist with others. No one is self-sufficient and everyone needs to rely on each other.”
Another speaker, Noel Langu said the use of Amen instead of Like needed to become a reality.
“Liking what someone posts or shares is not that hard, you just hover over the like icon and click it. But when you take the time to do something about it, that is an ‘Amen.’ That shows people are reaching out to you,” Langu said.
The panel’s final speaker, Nyleptha Kenny said: “There are good and bad features about social network communities, and the Internet is at our fingertips. But it is all up to us to make sure that we use them for positive purposes.”
The show had participants from UPNG, Jubilee Catholic Secondary, Marianville Secondary, Don Bosco Technical School, Caritas Technical Secondary and La Salle Technical College.