Call for protecting youth against violent ideology
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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 22, (KUNA): Speakers at a seminar on “the impact of media on phenomenon of violence among the youth” highlighted the need to correct the media discourse in a way to protect the youth against violent ideology.
The seminar was organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) on Saturday night on the fringe of the 40th Kuwait International Book Fair being held between Nov 19 and 28.
Addressing the event, Dr Amthal Al-Huwaila, professor of psychology at Kuwait University, identified violence as any act that could result in physical or psychological harm to other.
“The tendency of some people to harm others results mainly from certain shortcomings in the process of consciousness raising; it is an acquired taste that can be traced back to childhood.
“Therefore, the focus should be placed on the way individuals acquire knowledge in the first five years of their age, and the roles of family, school, community, social clubs and the media,” she argued.
“Violence has turned to be a global phenomenon that requires protective and preventive programs, and a more focused media discourse taking into account the age categories of the audience,” Dr Al-Huwaila added.
Meanwhile, Dr Barakat Al-Wuqayyan, a media figure, said some mass media play a negative role in marketing violence as they do in marketing commercial products.
He underscored the role of media gatekeeping, a process through which information is filtered for dissemination, publication or broadcasting, in order to verify that the media discourse suits the moral values of the society, and prevent any irresponsible practices or misinformation.
Dr Al-Wuqayyan stressed the need media realizing their responsibility in bringing up the young generation and developing their consciousness and awareness through credible information and news.
On his part, Director of the Public Relations and Information Dept. of the State Ministry for Youth Affairs Nasser Al-Arfaj said his ministry is keen on working with other state departments for correcting the behavior of youth and improve their awareness. He noted that the interactive awareness campaigns of the ministry drew large number of youth participants.
Col Nasser Abu Sulaib, director of the Security Media Department of the Interior Ministry, said that the unconventional media have a big influence on children and youth, so parents have to keep watch on the content of the social networking websites, particularly the messages of anonymous sites or accounts.
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