Facebook ban in Pakistan opens new window
Monday, May 24, 2010
By Moayyed Jafri
LAHORE
A BAN on Facebook has forced a number of Internet addicts to shift to similar alternative websites while some of them are using this opportunity to reconnect with their friends and relatives by visiting them.
Internet addiction has slowly and gradually penetrated into the Pakistani society as the lives of the masses in general and the youth in particular have shifted to the virtual world. They spend more time on the Internet and this seemingly harmless inclination has weakened the family institution society was once known for.
Dr Professor Aasir of Psychological Sciences department, Government College University, while talking to The News, said the virtual existence of personality, which the Internet provides, had reshaped society to a great extent. He said that besides the information revolution brought about by the advent of the Internet, the amount of time that our youth spent with their families and in other social activities, which played a pivotal role in progressive personality development, had been squeezed. He said that health was also being compromised upon because of the Internet addiction as majority of youngsters stayed awake till late in the night for this purpose.
