Latest news with #Oman2040VisionImplementationFollow-upUnit
Muscat Daily
16-02-2025
- Health
- Muscat Daily
Call for social media national framework
Muscat – With 78.12% of Omani children using social media and 96% of Omanis having accessed at least one platform in the past three months, concerns are growing over the impact of digital platforms on society. To address these challenges, the Ministry of Information, in collaboration with the Oman 2040 Vision Implementation Follow-up Unit, held a workshop on Sunday to focus on a roadmap 'Towards a National Framework for Dealing with Social Media'. H E Mohammed bin Saeed al Balushi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information, stressed the need for a clear national strategy to manage the effects of social media, particularly on youth. H E Mohammed bin Saeed al Balushi 'This initiative seeks to preserve family cohesion, promote responsible upbringing of children, and confront the global challenges posed by social media. The goal is to establish clear mechanisms to manage this widespread phenomenon.' H E Balushi highlighted the influence of social media in modern life. 'With instant access to global networks, social media has reshaped how we communicate and interact. However, its rapid growth also presents risks, including isolation, rising mental health issues like depression and anxiety, and smartphone addiction.' H E Balushi noted that ethical concerns such as cyberbullying, harassment, misinformation, and the spread of rumours further threaten societal values and safety. 'Developing a national framework is essential for the protection of youth and future generations,' he added. Dr Amal bint Mohammed al Nofli, Director General of Electronic Media and Head of the Working Group, explained that a team has been formed to assess the current social media landscape, identify challenges, and turn them into opportunities. 'The group aims to balance the negative and positive aspects of social media while educating families and youth on best practices.' She added that the team would develop initiatives to promote responsible social media engagement. Al Azhar bin Hassan al Shaqsi from the Government Communication Center shared key statistics on social media usage in Oman. He revealed that WhatsApp is the most widely used platform, with 99.10% of the population on it. While 53.11% of Omanis reported a positive impact from social media, 10% noted negative effects. The workshop also explored ways to raise awareness among families and youth on responsible social media use. Key strategies discussed included launching awareness campaigns, combating digital illiteracy, promoting digital citizenship, and incorporating digital ethics and media education into school curricula to encourage safe online behaviour.
Times of Oman
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Information Ministry begins session on tackling social media
Muscat: The Ministry of Information on Sunday started an evolution session themed 'Towards a National Framework for Dealing with Social Media'. The session, which lasts until 25 February 2025, is being organised in cooperation with Oman 2040 Vision Implementation Follow-up Unit. The session seeks to address digital challenges involved in raising children, enhance public awareness about the safe use of social media and achieve the goals of Oman Vision 2040 in building an enlightened society and developing efficient policies and strategies that reflect the needs of the community. The session stems from the Royal speech of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on the responsibility of the family and society towards children's upbringing in an atmosphere of social media. The session will round up a programme undertaken earlier by the Ministry of Information to engage academics, researchers, educators, media professionals and specialists in drafting research and studies and to conduct a survey and a poll in cooperation with official bodies. Mohammed bin Said Al Balushi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information, said in a speech at the session that the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik underscored the need to accord a special attention to the influence of social media on youth and young people. Al Balushi explained that this Royal directive reflects the importance of taking action to address the impacts of social media, safeguard the integrity of the family and adhere to the proper upbring of children—bearing in mind that this phenomenon has become global in its nature and orientations and that it should be dealt with at the national level by establishing clear-cut mechanisms. Al Balushi added that social media has become a major factor in shaping the communication map in modern societies. He observed that, through social media networks and other applications, one can access the world by pressing a button. 'This tremendous transition in methods of human communication has had major implications to the nature of our social relations and it influences the way we interact with our surroundings,' said Al Balushi. The session saw the screening of a short film featuring Omani citizenship, the national identity and how to locally deal with social media by establishing clear-cut mechanisms for this purpose. The presentation also dealt with the extent to which the efforts of media agencies could help unify and integrate joint action. Dr. Amal Mohammed Al Nofli, Director General of Electronic Media, Head of the Working Group, said that the Ministry of Information formed a team comprising members from the Ministry of Information and representatives of government departments to study the current situation, explore the reasons for change, identify the challenges and converting them into opportunities to substitute the negative outcomes from the use of social media with positive outcomes. The team is also entrusted with enlightening families and youth about the best ways to use social media, she added. Dr. Amal explained that the team will take steps to prepare a set of initiatives that will contribute to realizing the strategic objectives of the workshop and achieving optimal interaction among means of social media. The evolution session discusses strategic approaches by raising awareness among families and youth about the importance of responsible use of social media sites. The workshop envisages the implementation of public awareness campaigns and programmes targeting families and young people. It also includes programmes to eradicate digital illiteracy, consolidate digital citizenship and ethics and introduce social media education to help inculcate the concepts of digital citizenship and digital ethics through educational curricula designed to enhance positive digital conduct.
