- ‘Social media becomes more dominating due to its wide-access’
ISLAMABAD: Eminent writers and columnists on the third and concluding day of the Adabi (literature) Conference held here on Sunday at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) called for a positive role of the social media in reconstructing the society.
Those who participated in the day’s deliberations included renowned writers Iftikhar Arif, Wajaht Masood, Zahida Hina, Manzar Naqvi, Fatima Hasan and Khurshid Nadeem. Welcoming the participants, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui said that the university was playing its positive role in addressing the socio-economic issues of the society through academic, literary and social activities.
The Adabi Conference was the part of the literature carnival that has been made an annual feature to promote role of literature and language in the society’s reformation. The third-day’s activities included a sitting with famous fiction and story writer Zahida Hina, besides launching of two books ‘Chargh Zar, written by Akhtar Usman and ‘Jo surat nazar aayee’ by Farooq Adil.
Deliberating upon the role of literature and the social media, the participants pointed out that it was the social responsibility of educational institutions to create awareness among the youth as how best they could use the social media for their education and proper brought up. They appreciated the AIOU for its leading role in projecting healthy practices.
Listing the pros and cons of the social media, they said that it could be destructive for the society if its proper use was not ensured. They said that the literature was inter-connected with the society’s overall growth and due to its wide-access, the social media has become more dominating.
“The social media is leaving deep impact on the society, as its access is available to everyone who is free to express himself,” they said, adding that the authenticity and creditability of the contents appeared on Facebook, twitter and websites were very important. There should be a code of conduct for this purpose, they emphasised.
During the three-day of literature carnival, altogether there were eleven working sessions which were participated by eminent writers, columnists and books’ publishers from all over the country. They deliberated upon the role of literature in reconstruction of the society. The first-working session was devoted to the issues relating to publication of literature, difficulties in its way and future challenges.
The session was presided over by National Books Foundation Managing Director Dr Inamul Haq Javed, who painted an optimistic picture of books’ reading habit, stating that the foundation itself published books worth Rs 3350 million in a period of about one year. The follow-up event was a seminar on books’ translation and editing that was presided over by Dr Sheeraz Dasti.
