BECOMING RESPONSIBLE CONTENT USERS
The Communications and Multimedia Forum of Malaysia hopes to reinforce the importance of media literacy among Internet users, writes SUZANNA PILLAY
BASED on the current landscape of electronic media usage in Malaysia, there is a lack of understanding in how we approach content, says the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF).
“As the population moves away from traditional screens to interactive devices like laptops, tablets and mobile phones, the responsibility for the usage of such content is much higher.
“With the interactive capabilities of the different kinds of screens nowadays, there is an outward impact that has been forgotten. The result today is that there are a lot of issues that have arisen concerning the engagement of users to this realm,” says CMCF executive director Mohd Mustaffa Fazil Mohd Abdan.
He said the purpose of the content forum was to promote selfregulation, a message which needed to be repeated time and again to industry professionals and new entrants, such as young users coming into possession of devices who are starting their journey through the Netscape, and even for parents, teachers and guardians who are being introduced to this world.
“It is about self-discipline and about what would be the best approach to access and consume online content. This is even more so now because we have a lot of creative persons who are getting younger by the day. They are utilising the devices and becoming content creators.”
Mustaffa said awareness was key to becoming a catalyst for further learning and this was something the CMCF wanted Malaysians to inculcate within themselves without being forced by authorities.
“Parents, guardians and community leaders play a huge role because we get a lot of content issues that come our way which are unpalatable, like child grooming by sexual predators, oversharing and defamation.
“One of the things we notice was that people were unaware how they portrayed themselves online.
“The problem is when we are alone with a screen in front of us, we forget that beyond the screen there are millions of people out there, not just Malaysians. Just by leaving a comment or sharing a picture, they may affect someone in a different jurisdiction, country or walk of life.
“What we intend to do is to help people check themselves and those within their sphere of influence like, family members, classmates and friends.”
With the “Di Sebalik Wajah” campaign, CMCF intends to be interactive and engaged with visitors to its portal. In Bahasa Melayu and English, the portal www.disebalikwajah.com.my helps people think about how they portray themselves online, what to do in terms of content dissemination and to ask themselves how what they share online may affect third parties.
“As responsible content users, they should ask themselves if what they are sharing is beneficial and if it is, that it should be shared with the right group and not publicly.
“They should decide what kind of narrative they want to put out there without getting emotional.
“This is another problem we see today; people who are overemotional and who lose sight of their level-headedness when sharing content in the public domain.
“If anyone is unsure about the content they plan to share with others, it is probably wisest that they refrain from doing so as they need to realise that they will be responsible for whatever material they choose to share.”