OmanPride: Mirvat Al Nasar raises awareness about ethics of social media

There’s no doubt that social media is one of the most influential tools, which people from around the globe use for educational and entertaining purposes, but sometimes these platforms can be a mean place full of unethical material that carry damaging results for those of us who log in on daily basis.
The solution is not to block those cyber-bullies, but to raise awareness about the importance of ethics on social media, which is what Mirvat Yousef Al Nasar’s initiative is all about. Mirvat’s ‘Follow Your Ethics’ initiative came into existence in November of 2016, after witnessing an increase in unethical publishing behaviour among youngsters on social media, which is becoming a cultural dilemma that’s spreading like wildfire, and in Oman, youngsters occupy the largest portion of the population, so raising awareness on the matter is necessary.
“The gap has increased in the concept of how to deal with social media among young users” said Mirvat, adding that “some may exploit it in an inappropriate way that doesn’t represent the Omani individual.”
The initiative started off with a simple hashtag that reads ‘my Snap, my manners, unfollow,’ which is aimed at educating the younger generation on how to get the best out of these platforms, as well as tips on online behaviour. Six volunteering members are working alongside Mirvat to create content for the initiative and share concepts and ideas that could work as guidance for the youth.
The campaign’s main goal is to instil ethics and excellent online behaviour in youngsters and encourage them to only follow accounts and users that are positive and serve ethics. The initiative is under the umbrella of the Council of Youth Fan Club in Barka, and its first event was organised by Faisal bin Abdul Rahim Al Balushi, and was held at the Scientific College of Design.

Life-threatening
The event was held under the patronage of Dr Saleh Al Fahdi, who gave a speech on the effects of social networking sites and how to be careful on using it as it can be dangerous and life-threatening. The initiative was well received by the society, which prompted a second event at the Higher College of Technology in Al Khuwair under the patronage of Nader Al Said. Mirvat and her team selected a group of successful local social media influences so they can act as an inspiration for young Omanis.
The initiative is set to spread across the city, which plans to hold more events and workshops at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and the German University of Technology (GUtech). There may be challenges and lack of support from certain sectors, but Mirvat is determined to bring social media ethics to the forefront of social issues.
—[email protected]