Facebook banned in Pakistan
Written by Shirley Kettler
I'm sure many of us have heard of "Facebook" - A global social network allowing people to communicate through the internet. In Singapore, we use facebook to update our status, profile, information, pictures and many more. Of course, the real addicts(my friends) would be the ones hooked on facebook games, quizes, and other applications i have YET explore...... However, how other countries utilize facebook is another story.
Recently, a huge sensation aroused which involved people in Pakistan to be banned from using facebook. This controversy erupted on May 20th when a facebook user created a page called "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" The event ignited angry protests not only in Pakistan, but around the world. Many people felt that their religions were not respected, let alone offensive.
Was this commotion really necessary? Originally, facebook was used as a facilitation tool to locate people, socialise and communicate. It is certainly not wrong to create pages for people or fans to "like" simply because they agree. However, especially through the internet, we may not know the viewers and this may stimulate sensitive issues. Not only does this apply to respecting one's religion, but race, gender and any other susceptible related terms. We may create pages to see if peoples' respond is corresponding to our opinions, but we should also consider veiwers' feelings on how they would react to such events.
Otherwise, haven't we defeated the whole purpose of facebook?
