Public should self-impose restrictions on use of social media: Weerakkody

The public should self-impose limitations on the use of social media rather than the government having to impose them, Skills Development and Vocational Training Minister Chandima Weerakkody said.

Speaking to the media yesterday he said citizens had been given a timeout, like the ‘Nonagathe’, during which they should think of the responsibilities when using social media.

The Minister said there were more than 100,000 social media applications including Facebook and Media, operating in the country, and 80 percent of the youth used these applications.

“When social media was blocked, everyone was talking about Facebook and Whatsapp, and the reason for using social media is a question that needs to be answered when we face such a situation. Every youngster in Sri Lanka is on Facebook, but hardly anyone knows about the opportunities they have in other countries like in France,” the Minister said.

Minister Weerakkody requested the media to create awareness about what was important for the future of the youth and the country.

The Minister also requested the public to be responsible and to not use the social media platform to organize mobs and attacks.

“Sri Lanka is well known for its hospitality and we have a long civilized history, but unfortunately, social media

When social media was blocked, everyone was talking about Facebook and Whatsapp, and the reason for using social media is a question that needs to be answered when we face such a situation. Every youngster in Sri Lanka is on Facebook, but hardly anyone knows about the opportunities they have in other countries like in France

users worldwide have only seen the worst of what the country has to offer.”

The media should guide the younger generation in a bid to develop the country, the Minister said.

We should look at the damage we caused when we converted a small issue into a major disaster in Kandy. As many things in the country are provided free of charge by the government, many misused these facilities.

“Social media platforms were banned for the good of the country and we have to look at the ways it was used. We are the only people who burnt the country to cinders using Facebook, no other country has done this.”

Weerakody concluded that Sri Lankans were a sneaky bunch who had a very high technical knowledge. “This knowledge should be used for the betterment of the country,” he said.