Universities must work to preserve decency in public discourse

Okara (HRNW)- With the proliferation of new media technologies and common people’s fast and easy access to these platforms, it is need of the hour that universities must educate and train the youth to ensure decency and decorum in public discourse as any irresponsible comment can lead to chaos, said the Vice Chancellor University of Okara Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zakria Zakar while talking to the students.
Dr. Zakar told that ordinary individuals have got enormous power to disseminate their ideas to million and across the countries without incurring any cost. This unprecedented communicative power of individual has opened up new opportunities and threats for governments and civil societies across the globe.
He was of the view that this communicative power, if unchecked and unregulated, will render enormous damage to the social fabric and give birth to dangerous innovations such as cyber bulling, fake news, infringement of privacy and cyber impersonation.
Dr. Zakar urged that all the institutions of higher learning in Pakistan should train the youth and take a lead to develop new norms and values of communication at private and public lives.
He warned that the cyber violence will spill over to physical violence: it will further erode public trust and create a new form of anarchy, unrest and social discontentment.