essay about social media and its impact on pakistani youth

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Correlation between Pakistani youth & social media

We cannot deny that social media is a double-edged sword.

We all have been through situations when we are scrolling through posts or watching YouTube videos and before we even realize an hour or two has already been passed.

On one hand, social media has changed people’s outlook towards business and technology, but on the other, it has also changed the way people communicate and spend their time. Resultantly, these advancements have caused our younger generation to be at the forefront of this change. We can view social media as two sides of the same coin, bringing with it both positive and negative aspects.

However, in recent years, it has been observed that negative consequences are overpowering the positive ones, especially when talking in context to teenagers. Now, problems are not just confined to cyberbullying. Excess use of social media has resulted in poor academic performance, decreased family time, teens being dragged away from their culture, increased vulnerability towards sexting, and mental disturbance due to cyberbullying.

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Social networking sites although have been recognized as a great resource for information, studies however, suggest that the demerits of social media are often outnumbered by the merits. This belief can be cemented by the fact that students mostly use social networking sites primarily for fun, to kill time, to meet existing friends or to make new ones. These sites are designed in a way to attract maximum people.

Thus, even if you do not have an initial intention of wasting your valuable time on social media , you still are entrapped by catchy thumbnails or meme pages. This deviates students from their actual objective, for which on the first place, they opened social media .

Moreover, this fact cannot be denied that students who tend to multitask often show reduced academic performance. Our ability to focus on the task at hand is significantly reduced by distractions brought about by YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat . To further add, compulsive use of social media does not go unnoticed by parents and teachers, as this correlation is clearly reflected on students’ result cards. In these unprecedented times, proliferation in COVID-19 cases has restricted everyone inside their house. Consequently, the outdoor activities and sports are highly discouraged.

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Thus, teenagers often spend their free time using social media . This has deviated teenagers from career and personal development goals, which could add up as plus points in their academic trajectory. Instead of investing this judicious time in activities like meditation, fitness, learning new things, reading books, or researching in various disciplines, they are utilizing their time in likes, shares, comments, posting selfies, and chatting. Without realizing that paying little attention to personal development can bring about negative consequences, months, or years down the road.

Another detrimental effect brought about by social media is that it builds a wall among family members. Though social media is a great way to interact, yet problems emerge when teenagers start detaching themselves from their families. Overindulgence of teenagers in social media has pulled them away from public spaces, family gatherings, traditional social settings, neighborhoods, and other integral associations, making them isolated in their rooms. It seems that teenagers have made a trade-off by subtly substituting social media for family gatherings and face to face interactions.

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Social media , when referred in a negative way makes us shed light on another major problem, cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is quite common with teenagers in Pakistan and those victimized by this often succumb to conditions of anxiety, self-isolation, severe depression, and in some cases even suicide.

Teenagers often share too much with too many because they perceive that the ‘social quotient’ of a person is determined by their number of friends or followers and not by how good they are in real life. In an attempt to increase followers or friends, they add unknown people, giving them a right to invade their privacy.

Subsequently, exposing these teenagers to higher risks of cyberbullying. Some teenagers are easily influenced by the magnificent lives and bodies documented on Instagram and Facebook . This not only erodes their self-confidence and self-esteem but they also constantly start comparing themselves with the person behind their mobile screen.

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Consequently, they start complaining to themselves for not being slimmer, prettier, stronger, taller, smarter, and the list goes on. These flawless pictures, being portrayed on social media , also have some profound psychological outcomes, making sensitive teenagers feel ostracized from society.

Another problem arising from social media is sexting. Sexting is basically sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit content, primarily through social media . Although at the moment there are no available statistics for this in Pakistan, but if we observe the increasing rates worldwide then we can admit that Pakistani teens are also not immune to this problem. The group most susceptible to sexting is of girls. Several girls in Pakistan have received sexually explicit messages from unknown accounts and in some cases, they even received some inappropriate pictures. In fact, a recent incident can be quoted, where some teachers of a private school association were held accountable for sending sexually explicit messages to their students.

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Conclusively, we cannot deny that social media is a double-edged sword. However, it is entirely upon us which side we opt for. Using technology and social media is really important when living in this era, but what is more important is to maintain a balance between the virtual and real-world. Academics and family should be prioritized. If social media is destroying your precious time then this problem should be addressed because if not taken into consideration, it can have some grave repercussions.

Qateen Zahra

The writer is a student based in Lahore. She is interested in writing about socio-cultural aspects of the society and hopes to pursue career in Medicine in future.

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Impact of Social Media on Linguistic Cognition of Pakistani Youth: Application of Dijk’s Socio-Cognitive Approach

2020, International Review of Social Sciences

In the 21st century, social media has become a pivot of all human activities and influenced youth and their cognitive abilities including language. Our research work focuses on identifying the nature of the influence social media has on the linguistic choices of youth, keeping in view the relationship between politically more dominant and less dominant youth. Twitter is our selected social media platform to conduct this study. It is mixed-method research with its prime focus on the context of discourse. Van-Dijk's socio-cognitive model is applied to the data extracted from twitter comprising a single tweet posted by Zulfi Bukhari, a British Pakistani businessman and politician, and replies of 5 young Pakistani people to this tweet. The study finds out that social media discourse framework, as much lexically dense as textbook discourse, incorporates and encourages representative speech acts the most in it, and politically dominant youth, preferring use of endophoric references, produces more commissive discourse with higher lexical density whereas politically less dominant youth prefers using exophoric references and produces more directive speech acts with lower lexical density.

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Pakistani Youth and Social Media Addiction: the Validation of Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS)

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• Published: 17 August 2020
• Volume 20 , pages 581–594, ( 2022 )

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• Qaisar Khalid Mahmood   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7009-5146 1 ,
• Sara Rizvi Jafree   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5141-1107 2 &
• Malik Muhammad Sohail 3 , 4  

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Majority of Pakistan’s population is comprised of youth who are increasingly using social media networks like Facebook. Though Facebook provides a platform for social interaction, there are also considerable problems associated with excessive Facebook usage that can result into addiction. Measurement of usage and addiction of Facebook through a validated scale is needed to promote better policies for protection against the pernicious consequences of addiction. Until now, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS) has not been widely used and validated in Pakistan. The objective of the present study was to conduct a psychometric validation in a sample of university students of Pakistan. Responses of 713 respondents were included in the final analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was run to confirm construct validity, and results showed that the BFAS demonstrates a one-factor solution with high factor loadings for all items. Criterion validation was also performed through structural equation modeling. Results showed that the BFAS primarily measures intensity of usage in context of addiction. Internal consistency was proven through Cronbach’s alpha analysis which was above 0.78. To conclude, the BFAS can be used in both epidemiological and clinical settings. Longitudinal use of the BFAS on larger population can help to devise policies for positive social media networking in university students to improve mental health and social development.

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Qaisar Khalid Mahmood

Department of Sociology, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Ferozepur Road, Lahore, 54600, Pakistan

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Department of Sociology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

Malik Muhammad Sohail

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Mahmood, Q.K., Jafree, S.R. & Sohail, M.M. Pakistani Youth and Social Media Addiction: the Validation of Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS). Int J Ment Health Addiction 20 , 581–594 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00391-0

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World Health Organization Conferred, approximately 1.53 million individuals will die from the suicide in 2019.There are growing indications and evidences that behavior against using social media effects and changes people’s lives, particularly in youth. Social Networking Sites (SNS) are progressively getting the attention of discussion across the world. In this modern era, the internet has grown up to be one of the supreme influential foundations to connect people.

With the progression of the internet, Social Networking Sites (SNS) progressively flatter popularly, besides, it has become the utmost up to date and eye-catching tool for joining people of the world. These sites have created transcontinental, intercontinental as well as nationwide spaces where the strangers’ tie, meet and bond in the social relationships. These days the supreme popular SNS are WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat as well as Skype. These SNS have made possible to simply attach with all God’s creatures, and these social networking sites have consequently changed the way individuals associate in the world, in addition, these applications have involved billions of consumers, and many of them have united these into their everyday practices such as posting, like, comments and sharing. People become linked to one another after registering and then post fake or true news, right or wrong information, as well as share videos and pictures, etc.

While social network use for worthy determinations, nonetheless, it is usually used for the contribution of digital photographs, enlightening demographic substantial and information, revealing securities, and leading online discussions and chat, because many societies inspire users for this kind of inappropriate activities and these societies has almost spoiled the image of the social networks. In late 1990s the social network instinctive with the Web 2.0 presenting features of blogging and posting with the website, it’s named was sixdegrees.com, in 1997 it permits user to make profiles and friends, future it came up with the features than in the year of 2003 the new face of the social networks linkedin.com, while in the year of 2003 facebook.com plus orkut.com changed the entire idea of social networks in the social media history then web sciences. After 2003 the social networks were becoming pretty advance with the existing features, by that new feature the user can change the entire front end whole appearance of the website on his own profile.

The popularity of SNS in the developing countries is in the lead. In the setting of Pakistan, social media has been getting distinction every day. In Pakistan, thirty million people have been reported to be online every day and this number is rising speedily. According to the Wilson RE, Samuel DG, Lindsay TG, written in “A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences, Perspectives on Psychological Science” there are 120 million multipurpose seconders in Pakistan who makes it the fifth main cellular telephone showcase in Asia. Conferring to the J, Haque, S, Popalzai in Pakistan Internet Use Survey. “The Express Tribune”, With “International New York Times” Facebook is currently the greatest approximately used social media site in Pakistan with the nine million customers in the country. It has stated that Facebook has over millions of supporters in the month and millions of new clients are joining the site consistently. According to Pakistan today profit, reported in the January 2019 Pakistan’s social media users is growing 5.7%, the total number of active social media users was recorded at 37 million, the percentage of the population was 18% of the whole.

According to the Ansari, F, Akhlaq M, Rauf A in “Social networks and web security”, Implications on opens source intelligence’s. In Information Assurance (NCIA), in the 2nd National Conference on IEEE, the Facebook has twisted into the fundamental networks of communication between refugee Pakistanis living in the Gulf States, European nations and the United States and their families.

In the Journal of Contemporary Asia mentioned Scholarship on the use of social networking is enormous, Research on SNS proposals detailed account of its connotation with numerous features including strength among youth and matters connected with harassment subsequent from extreme use of social media. The social media role in making involvement has been researched in numerous settings, the linking of social media with social capital has been argued and the connotation of social media with identical structure has been deliberated.

The connotation SNS linked to the family relationship are researched widely in the world. In this regard the increasing concern connected with SNS has reported being the cumulative change in the people behavior and interests to their relatives. There was the time once individuals around the world were aware concerning relationships, family matters and their friend’s circle however the state of affairs has modified within the recent past. Folks that accustomed provide much time to their families, and their social circle spent hours and hours on the surfboarding web or alternative futile activities. It’s been argued that thanks to this many families are currently lacking the shut emotional pledges that build after they have close social contact.

This indicates that the SNS has influenced family connections. Excessive use of SNS has been reported to lead to the isolation of individuals because they restrict themselves to their rooms and neglect the family gatherings. Individuals who become accustomed to the use of the internet do not realize the wastage of time. Hence, in Pakistan as well as in the rest of the world excessive use of SNS is turning to be a threat to the youth.

This indicates that the SNS has prejudiced the family associates. Extreme use of SNS has been stated to cause of the isolation of people as a result of they prohibit themselves to their housings and negligence the family congregations. People who become aware of the utilization of the web they understand the wastage of time. Hence, in our country, additionally, in the world extreme use of SNS is popping to be the threat to the youth. The extreme use of SNS reported affecting the performance of folks in real life. The new age group of children and adolescences are rising up with social media as an essential portion of their lives. It is altering how they interrelate with nobles, percentages and use the technology.

According to the G Arif, Golan J, B and Moritz in “Mediated public diplomacy” US and Taliban relations with Pakistani media. Media, War and Conflict, the Persons who use SNS disproportionately have started to feel unproductive and unfocused in academic activity, in work as well as in relationships. Instead of focusing on work, school and family, the youth today spend the majority of time online. As a consequent of spending time on SNS youth tends to neglect obligations.

Global Media Journal

ISSN: 1550-7521

Social Media and Youth in Pakistan: Implications on Family Relations

International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan

Received date: February 27, 2016; Accepted date: June 23, 2016; Published date: June 30, 2016

Visit for more related articles at Global Media Journal

Socialmedia; Family relations; Technological sociology; Socio-cultural values; Pakistan

Introduction

In the modern era internet has grown to be one of the most powerful sources to connect people [ 1 ]. With the advancement of internet Social Networking Sites (SNS) are increasingly becoming popular [ 2 ] and have become the most up to date and attractive tools for connecting people across the world [ 3 ]. These sites have created transnational, international and national spaces where strangers meet and tie in social relations. Some of the most popular SNS include MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Viber and what Sapp. These have made it possible to easily connect with the world and these applications have attracted millions of users, plenty of whom have integrated these in to their every day practices. The social network sites have thus changed the way people connect across the world [ 4 ].

When it comes to the popularity of SNS developing countries too are at the forefront. In the context of Pakistan social media is getting distinction day by day [ 5 ]. Thirty million people in Pakistan have been reported to be online everyday and the number is growing quickly. Likewise there are 120 million versatile endorsers in Pakistan that make it the fifth biggest cellular telephone showcase in Asia [ 6 ]. Face book is presently the most broadly utilized social media site in Pakistan with nine million clients in the nation. It has been reported that face book has over one million supporters a month and 44 thousand new clients joining the site consistently. Pakistan’s face book audience has been reported to be 70% male, 30% female as of April 2013 [ 7 ]. Face book has turned into one of the fundamental channels of correspondence between evacuee Pakistanis living in the Gulf States, European nations and the US and their families back home [ 8 ].

Scholarship on the use of SNS is huge. Research on SNS offers detailed account of its association with multiple aspects including violence among youth and issues related with harassment resulting from excessive use of social media. The role of social media in creating activism has been researched in various contexts [ 9 ], the connection of social media with social capital has been debated [ 10 , 11 ], and the association of social media with identity construction has been discussed [ 12 ]. Previous research has also highlighted the challenges and opportunities related to SNS across the world [ 13 ].

The association between SNS and family relationship is also an area which has been researched widely across the globe. In this regards a growing concern related with SNS has been reported to be the increasing change in the behavior and interests of people towards their relatives. There was a time when people around the world were conscious about relationships, family matters and their friends circle but the scenario has changed in the recent past. People who used to give plenty of time to their families and their social circle spent hours and hours on surfing internet or other futile activities. It has been argued that because of this plenty of families are now lacking the close emotional pledges that build when they have close social contact [ 14 ].

This indicates that SNS have influenced the family connections. Excessive use of SNS has been reported to lead to the isolation of individuals because they restrict themselves to their rooms and neglect the family gatherings. Individuals who become accustomed to the use of internet do not realize the wastage of time. Hence, in Pakistan as well as in the rest of the world excessive use of SNS is turning to be a threat for the youth.

In the light of the above discussion and considering the extremely high usage of SNS in Pakistan the current study was conducted to explore the relation between social media youth and family relations.

Research Objectives

1. To investigate the reasons for the excessive use of social media among youth.

2. To explore the effects of excessive use of social media on family relations.

Literature Review

Previous studies show that adolescents make a great transition from a focus on parents to a focus on peers. In adolescence peers become increasingly important and forming and maintaining friendships becomes one of the main challenges. Until now most research on social development of adolescence had focused on in-person interactions. In the contemporary world a shift has occurred from real-life social interactions with peers to online social interaction on SNS [ 15 , 16 ].

Social Networking Sites have been known as a platform to build social relations among individuals. This has especially been so for individuals who for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. However, recently the excessive use of SNS among youth has been reported due to access to internet. The amount of time spent on social media has dramatically increased over the last few years since electronics have become popular in our everyday lives [ 16 , 17 ].

The excessive use of SNS in turn has been reported to affect the performance of individuals in real life [ 5 ]. The new generation of kids and teens are growing up with social media as an integral part of their lives. It is changing how they interact with peers, parents and how they use technology [ 18 ]. Individuals who use SNS excessively have reported to feel unproductive and distracted in school, at work and from relationships [ 5 ]. Instead of focusing on work, school and family, the youth today spend majority of time online. As a consequent of spending time on SNS youth tend to neglect obligations. This has been reported to negatively impact the lives of the youth and their relationships with families.

Research shows that the overwhelming submission to the SNS has pulled people away from traditional social settings, neighborhoods, voluntary associations, and public spaces that have been associated with large and diverse core networks [ 19 ]. The impact of social media utilization on interpersonal connections is changing the way individuals interact in face to face communications. It is also believed to have diminished the social and behavioral abilities of humans. The SNS have changed the conduct and hobbies of the individuals towards their relatives and have been reported to have weakened family ties [ 14 ]. This is because when individuals communicate online they don’t feel personally connected to the people at the as they do when during face-to-face conversations. Hence, though people may be communicating more on the internet but they may not necessarily be building strong relationships [ 6 ].

This is especially true for the youth who spend hours on the SNS completely ignoring real relations. According to research conducted in the context of USA has Americans in the last few decades have become isolated socially. The social groups of people in America have been reported to have decreased. In particular, Americans are believed to have fewer close ties to those from their neighborhoods and from voluntary associations [ 19 ].

One reason for weakening of ties has been reported that youth spend more time with peers on line than they spend with their families [ 20 ] in their research have explained that use of SNS among youth has affected family life. Nearly one in three parents in their study had such feelings. Rosen and his colleagues also found that teens who spent a great time on Myspace believed that they lacked support support from their parents. In addition, research indicates that the excessive usage of social media increases level of loneliness and isolation and reduces bonding among intimate relations. As they become attached to their computers and smart phones individuals tend to show less concern towards family matters and families are now lacking the close emotional pledges [ 13 ].

Social Networking Sites have also been reported to affect the academic performance of the students. It has been found that the spending of unnecessary time on the internet can have serious implications for the performance of students at academic institutions. Hence, though the SNS may be a great means for enjoying yet the problem arises when individuals subtly substitute electronic relationships for physical ones. Though people may feel connected to peers via the Internet, yet this relation paradoxically engenders a sense of social isolation.

Likewise, qualitative evidence adds that social networking sites such as Myspace can also result in serious conflict among parents and children leading to reduced control of parents over their children [ 21 ]. However some researchers have argued that internet may not be a problem when sufficient supervision was available and when it was ensured that they used it properly. A study by Gustavo Mesch found that family time was not affected when adolescents used the computer for educational purposes only if they used it for social purposes then there will be negative effect on family interaction [ 22 ]. So, it is imperative that parents should be able to keep check on how their children use the internet by placing a time limit on long they can spend on the computer [ 23 ].

However, in majority of the cases it has been reported that parents may not know much about their teen's online activities. There is gap in the existing literature on parents knowledge of their children use of social media. Often parents are not aware of their online friends and what information o they have access to. For example parents are reported to be unaware about the time teens spend on Myspace [ 20 ]. In such cases parents may not be effective at setting limits and monitoring the activities of the children. For being able to reduce the gap between parents and children the parents also need to be educated about social media.

Due to the above reasons and others the limitations of SNS are also being debated across the world. Some scholars have considered the excessive use of SNS as a threat and danger to families and society. However, people who explicitly emphasize the drawbacks of social media are not entirely against the idea of networking. Yet they are of the opinion that the replicated relationships become dominant in the lives of excessive media users than those of their real relationships. This is how social networking becomes a threat to our families and societies [ 24 ].

Methodology

The current study was conducted by using a quantitative approach that emphasizes on objective measurements and numerical analysis of collected data. It relies on statistical approaches to generate valid and empirical results. The tool for current research was survey. Research instrument for current research data collection was questionnaire.

The area/locale of current research was International Islamic University Islamabad. The target population was the female students enrolled in Masters programmes in various departments in the Faculty of Social Sciences belonging to age group 20-26 who reported to be using SNS excessively. Since the aim of this study was to focus on the excessive usage of SNS and its effects hence those students who reported to use SNS excessively were selected purposively. By using stratified sampling technique 175 students were selected for the interviews.

In the first phase of the study pretesting was carried out by distributing 30 questionnaires in order to check the reliability of the instrument. For the analysis of quantitative data, statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used which facilitates the researcher in more than one way such as time saving and reduction of large amount data to basic pattern etc. Univariate analysis has been done to interpret the data.

Results and Discussion

The selected respondents belonged to various departments in the faculty of Social Sciences including Sociology (32%), Psychology (24.57%) and Education (43.42%). The majority of the respondents (94.3%) were single and unemployed (87.42%). The respondents belonged to different types of family systems i.e. 54.3% were living in joint family system, 43.4% living in nuclear family system and 2.3% respondents were living in extended family system. The data shows that the majority (55.7%) respondents spent 6-10 hours on SNS per day using different apps and visiting different sites ( Table 1 ).

Table 1: Applications used by the respondents.

The availability of applications is the first thing which attracts youngsters to SNS. The data shows that the majority of the respondents 38.9% used four plus apps on the SNS.

According to the data from this study the most popular SNS was twitter as evidenced from the fact that 33.7% respondents were using it. Face book was reported to be used by 20.6%, whatsapp was used by 19.4% respondents, viber was used by 7.4% respondents, youtube was used by 6.9% respondents, tango was used by 9.1% respondents, and skype was reported to be used by 2.3% respondents ( Table 2 ).

Table 2: Opinion about recreational activities.

The respondents were asked about the daily activities they performed during free time ( Table 2 ). When asked if they would prefer to spend time with family members instead of being on social media 88% responded that they would sometimes prefer it and 8.6% responded that they would always prefer it. This shows that social networking sites reduce the actual human contact and those who are active on social sites appear not to have time for the actual life interactions.

The respondents were also inquired if they helped their parents in free time. According to the data, 70.9% respondents said sometimes, 27.84% respondents said always and 1.7% respondents said never. In response to the question if they liked being on the SNS sites the responses were 36.0% said sometimes, 59.4% said always and very few like 4.6% said never ( Table 3 ).

Table 3: Reasons for using SNS.

Previous research shows that teenagers use SNS for a number of reasons. One of such reasons has been reported to make new friends and to stay in touch with existing friends. It has been found that social media users under the age of 50 are especially likely to say that these tools help them keep up with existing friends and reconnect with old ones-roughly seven in ten users under the age of fifty say that staying in touch with current friends is a major reason they use online social platforms, and just over half say that connecting with old friends they’ve lost touch with is equally important [ 1 ]. Research on SNS and youth has also found that girls usage of sites is mainly for the purpose of strengthen pre-existing friendships and for boys it for flirting and making new friends [ 25 ].

The data from this study shows that the primary purpose of the SNS for the respondents was to make new friends and to stay in touch with the existing friends. 76.0% responded that they sometimes used SNS to make new friends and stay in touch with old friends while 10.3% stated always used SNS to make new friends and to remain in touch with existing friends. The respondents were also of the view that they often preferred to interact with people with common interests. When asked if they used SNS for finding old friends 73.1% said sometimes and 26.3% said always. When inquired if they used SNS to communicate with existing friends 88.6% replied always. 69.1% responded that they sometimes used SNS to interact with people with common interest and 85.7% respondents replied that they always used SNS to kill time ( Table 4 ).

Table 4: Negative effects of SNS on personal and family life.

In order to determine in what ways the SNS had effected family relations the respondents were asked further questions. The responses of the respondents indicate that SNS have often negative effects which lead to change in social relations by decreasing family bonding.

Some of the negative aspects discussed were more connection with online friends than time spent with family reported by 80% (to a great extent), and 14.9% (to some extent) and more reliance on electronic medium reported by 61.1% (to a great extent). Similar findings have been reported in previous studies [ 7 ]. Likewise emotional disturbance was reported to be one negative effect of social media. The respondents were asked to give their views as to what extent they were facing emotional disturbance. According to data 88.6% said to some extent, 4.6% said to great extent and 4.0% respondents said not at all. It was also inquired to what extent using social media increases the level of loneliness among the individuals. According to the data 69.1% said to some extent, 28.0% said to great extent, and 2.9% said not at all.

The data also shows that the respondents have less emotional bonding with the family. According to data 65.1% agreed to this said to some extent, 24.6% to great extent, and 7.4% not at all. The fact that the bonding of the respondents with their family members is decreasing is also evident from the fact that the majority of the respondents reported to be leased concerned with family matter. In response the statement ‘least concerned about family matters’ 71.4% respondents reported to a great extent while ( Table 5 ).

Table 5: Positive effects of SNS.

Despite the negative effects the data shows that social media has some healthy merits as well ( Table 6 ). The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the statement that social media is a medium of communication between old friends. According to data 17.7% respondents strongly agreed, 81.7% agreed and .6% were neutral. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with the statement that social media is a source of making new friends. According to data 24.6% respondents were strongly agreed, 65.7% respondents were agreed, 8.6% respondents were neutral and 1.1% was disagreed.

Table 6: SNS and family relationships.

Social media is also believed to update about latest fashion trends. The respondent was asked to what extent they agreed with this statement. According to data 70.3% respondents reported to strongly agree, 29.1% respondents agreed, and 0.6% respondents were neutral.

Social media is also a good source for remaining in touch with family members living abroad. It is believed to have allowed migrant families across the world to communicate with ease where communication through occasional letters and phone calls used to be expensive. According to data 90.3% respondents strongly agreed, 6.9% respondents agreed, 2.3% respondents were neutral, 0.6% respondents disagreed.

When the respondents were inquired if they had found their life partner on the SNS the responses were interesting. According to the data 1.7% strongly agreed, 25.7% agreed to the statement, 14.3% were neutral, 31.4% disagreed and 26.9% strongly disagreed. Previous research shows that very few social media users say that finding potential romantic partners or people to date plays a role in their use of these sites [ 1 ].

The respondents were asked that they found social media a great way to enjoy leisure or when alone. According to the data 53.1% strongly agreed, 36.0% agreed, 9.7% were neutral, 0.6% disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed. The respondents were asked if they had got awareness about global scenario. According to the data 42.9% strongly agreed, 46.9% agreed and 10.3% were neutral. Source: survey.

The negative effects of SNS discussed above clearly indicate its influence on family relations. It is clear that as a result of access to electronic the respondents reported to connected with their online friends. This resulted in emotional disturbance and loneliness on one hand and importantly the respondents acknowledged having least concern with family matters and less emotional bonding with the family. In order to determine in what particular ways family relations are being affected by the use of SNS further questions were asked from the respondents. In response to the statement if the use of social media has become a trend 83.4% strongly agreed and 16.6% agreed.

In response to the question if SNS had reduced face to face interaction 70% strongly agreed. When asked if social media makes family relations nonexistent 42.3% respondents strongly agreed, 43.4% were agreed, 8.6% were neutral, 4.0% were disagreed and 1.7% strongly disagreed. Previous research has suggested that internet communication had a negative impact on the individual by reducing face-to-face interactions and increasing level of loneliness [ 26 ]. Research has also found that teens use media and instant messaging as a substitute for face to face interaction with friends [ 27 ].

In order to determine how use of SNS affects social relations the respondents were asked if addiction to social media detaches individuals from siblings. To this question 46.3% respondents strongly agreed, 44.6% agreed, 7.4% were neutral, 1.1% was disagreed and 0.6% strongly disagreed.

The respondents were asked if families are now lacking the close emotional pledges because of excessive usage of social media. According to data 49.1% strongly agreed, 42.3% agreed, 6.9% were neutral, 1.1% was disagreed and 0.6% strongly disagreed to the statement. This has also been reported in previous studies that families are now lacking the close emotional pledges with their offspring and that SNS have changed the behavior & interests of the people towards their relatives [ 28 - 30 ].

The aim of the study was to find out how social networking sites are affecting family relationships in Pakistani society. The data shows that SNS are contributing in many ways and there are many positive attributes associated with the use of the SNS. Yet negative effects of SNS cannot be ignored. Importantly, the data shows that the use of SNS is deeply associated with family relationships. Excessive usage of SNS is alienating the youth and making them isolated. While doing this the social media is creating gap between the family and youth. The youth in contemporary Pakistan are being detached from their families and friends as a result of the time they spend online. This has serious implications on the cultural values of the Pakistani society. This indicates that notwithstanding the fact that access to SNS has changed the way individuals think, how they interact, the way they experience life, the way they share opinions, and make friends and importantly the way they exercise their right to vote. However, it’s time to reconsider the use of SNS to keep a balance between the changing global world and the values and norms of the society.

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Combating the tobacco epidemic: Experts urge more robust anti-smoking campaign

• Living In UAE
• Magical Dubai
• The Kurator

Risks to human health of tobacco use, medwakh and e-cigarettes highlighted

Abu Dhabi: Experts are calling for a more robust anti-smoking campaign as tobacco use emerges as a severe public health issue, significantly impacting the healthcare system and quality of life.

Studies consistently show that smoking severely harms the cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems, among others. Nicotine stop cancer-fighting proteins, another study shows .

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In an interview with Gulf News , Dr. Syed Khurram Mushtaq Gardezi, a consultant cardiologist at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, highlighted these health concerns ahead of the World No-Tobacco Day, observed on May 31 each year. He cited in particular the dangers of “medwakh” and e-cigarettes, while advocating for stronger anti-smoking initiatives.

“There is a great risk to human health due to smoking. Smoking tobacco damages your heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system), increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke. Smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease (CHD), in which the arteries of the heart can’t supply the heart muscle with enough oxygen-rich blood.”

Then, there’s the mistaken belief that “medwakh”, a smoking pipe used in Arabia to smoke loose tobacco known as “dokha”, is “safer”.

It is not: One medwakh session can be the equivalnt of smoking five to ten cigarettes in terms of nicotine intake.

Research has revealed that “medwakh” contains much higher nicotine and tar levels than cigarettes – despite the widespread belief that medwakh and shisha are “safer”.

Medwakh can cause many of the same diseases as cigarettes cause, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and coronary artery disease, the cardiologist warned.

The danger of e-cigarettes

As for e-cigarettes, they’re no better.

Dr. Gardezi said: “The use of e-cigarettes by smokers trying to quit has no beneficial impact on health , as there is insufficient evidence on their effectiveness as smoking cessation aids.”

Diseases caused by smoking

Dr. Gardezi pointed out that the most common diseases caused by smoking are:

• Cardiovascular System: Hypertension, atherosclerosis - narrowing in the blood vessels, thrombosis - clot formation, Coronary artery disease, Tachycardia and Arrhythmias.
• Respiratory System: Chronic obstructive, pulmonary disease (emphysema/chronic bronchitis) and lungs cancer.
• Musculoskeletal System: Spinal disc degeneration, joint pain and tremors.
• Gastrointestinal System: Peptic ulcer, heartburn/dyspepsia and gastrointestinal cancer.

UAE efforts

According to a study conducted in a number of UAE universities, medwakh use has become the most common tobacco product, accounting for 47.5 per cent among young smokers, followed by 44 per cent of e-cigarettes. - Dr. Syed Khurram Gardezi

As for the ongoing national efforts and policies in place to combat smoking in the UAE, Dr. Gardezi says: “The Department of Health Abu Dhabi has an active ongoing campaign regarding smoking cessation – providing information through electronic and social media outlets, arranging smoking cessation awareness sessions, providing smoking cessation clinics and information leaflets across the Emirate in the same respect.”

Protecting children

The UAE is also fighting to protect adolescents below 18 years old from smoking, Dr. Gardezi said: “We have to raise awareness regarding the harmful effects of smoking and in particular of the traditional medwakh and e-cigarettes.”

“According to a study conducted in a number of UAE universities, medwakh use has become the most common tobacco product, accounting for 47.5 per cent among young smokers, followed by 44 per cent of e-cigarettes. This can be achieved by arranging smoking cessation awareness sessions in the secondary schools, colleges and universities across the Emirate as well as by making full use of social media and electronic media, running active smoking cessation campaigns – such as biking/hiking/marathon events with the active involvement of the youth.

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“Perhaps name a month in a year to launch and celebrate/commemorate such campaigns, such as STOP-TEMBER (relating to stopping smoking in September.)”

Dr. Gardezi concluded: “In the Middle East and, specifically the Arabian Gulf region, cigarette smoking has warranted and garnered serious public health concern.

"Among adults in this region, the point prevalence of active cigarette smoking was approximately 24 per cent in men and 1 per cent in women, according to one of the largest surveys of adult tobacco use in the UAE. Further, it has been reported that 82 per cent of students have tried their first cigarette before the age of 14-1/2.”

It has been noted that tobacco and cigarette manufacturers target young people for lifelong profits, creating a new wave of addiction.

Children use e-cigarettes at higher rates than adults in all regions. Globally, an estimated 37 million youth between the ages of 13 and 15 use tobacco.

Lawyer Dr Fatima Al Neyadi of Capital Office Fair Law and Legal Consultations in Abu Dhabi, said:

“The regulations in the UAE, prohibit hookah cafes from providing tobacco and its products to those under 18 years of age, and prohibit the delivery of hookah outside the cafe.”

According to Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 regarding the rights of the child, also known as the “Wadima Law”, it is prohibited to sell or attempt to sell tobacco or its products to a child. The buyer must provide proof that he has reached 18 years of age. The law also stipulates that smoking is prohibited in public and private transportation and in closed places if a child is present.”

UAE law to combat smoking

Dr Fatima Al Neyadi added: “In 2013, the Ministry of Health published the executive regulations of Federal Law No. (15) of 2009 regarding tobacco control in Resolution No. (24) of 2013 to limit the spread of tobacco use. The National Tobacco Control Committee is currently working to adopt a complete ban on smoking in public places.”

Rules on shisha cafes

At the federal level, shisha cafes and similar cafes are prohibited from practising their activities in residential areas, and are only licensed in specific places that are 150 metres away from buildings or residential neighbourhoods, schools and mosques.

“The working hours of the cafes have been set so that they operate from 10 in the morning until 12 midnight.”

Federal Law No. 15 of 2009

Dr Fatima Al Neyadi stated: “Additionally, Federal Law No. 15 of 2009 prohibits the import of tobacco and its products into the country unless standard conditions are met, including:

• It is prohibited to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18.
• It is prohibited to smoke while driving, in the presence of a child under the age of 12.
• It is prohibited to import candy, children’s toys, and other similar products that are manufactured in the form of tobacco derivatives, which may indirectly tempt the younger generation to adopt the smoking habit.

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