IT is a truism that we are living in a globalised world where no one nation can claim being an island to itself and thereby seek immunity from major developments on the face of the earth.
The unprecedented growth and development of information and communications technology (ICT) and its speedy adoption and use across the world have reinforced the theoretical basis for the concept of a shrinking world — a world that has grown smaller, not in physical size but in the speed of reach.
The Internet, no doubt, is replete with benefits which are too many to recount here. Suffice it to say that it facilitates communication among individuals, businesses and even states in a matter of minutes, instead of days and weeks or even months, as was previously the case.
In so doing, it has considerably lifted the huge communication burden off the shoulders of mankind and saved a lot of precious time and energy that can be channelled into other areas to enhance the socio-economic development of nations and support the quest for a better life for the people.
Through its numerous websites — e-mail, facebook and twitter — people and institutions can readily access information of interest to them and this has contributed to bring down the cost of doing business in these times and also increased the stock of knowledge among people of different nationalities and background.
These notwithstanding, the Internet is like a double-edged sword — it cuts both ways.
In spite of its good attributes, it can also be used to do very bad and morally reprehensible things that undermine social peace, order and good governance.
There are, indeed, a number of websites which, when browsed, especially by very young people (children specifically), can very likely corrupt morals and contribute to their degeneration into criminals or social misfits, thereby making them unnecessary burdens for society.
Of late, many of our young people who patronise our Internet cafes drift to websites that showcase pornographic images and information, without any mechanism of censorship being enforced.
Additionally, these young people are increasingly resorting to the Internet to rip people off in clandestine business deals popularly called ‘Sakawa’.
Many people the world over have lost huge fortunes, some their lifetime savings, through such sinister manipulation of the Internet.
Our youth who will rise to lead this nation tomorrow need not only verbal admonitions against their indulgence in such vices but also, and more important, guidance and counselling and refined forms of regulation in the use of the Internet if they are to be saved form compromising their future and that of the nation.
It is against this backdrop that we fully endorse the call by the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, on Internet cafe operators to introduce or enforce mechanisms which will restrict the accessibility of minors to certain websites whose contents are not conducive to their smooth and orderly development.
While it will be a tall order to prevent the youth altogether from accessing the Internet, it is possible and, indeed, desirable to enforce standards among Internet cafes so that those which fail the test, including those who are not able to bar minors from such morally degenerating websites and ‘Sakawa’ activities, will be sanctioned.
We, in taking this position, are only too aware of the overwhelming importance of our youth to national development and progress, for which reason nothing should be left to chance in trying to get them to traverse the right path.
Let’s remember that these formative stages in the lives of the youth are the most important in shaping their minds for tomorrow. If they are left to imbibe negative attributes and values, they will be lost and our nation’s future will be compromised.
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