Personal Response on Current Affairs

This is my sixth response to current affairs, which is on societal issues. The article was taken from The Straits Times, 3 August 2007. The author of the article is Aaron Low.



Off with the mask—come out and blog

Background

The article is talking about the writings of many bloggers, and how influential they can be. It also talks about the issue of anonymity in blogging, which many people take advantage of, for both good and bad purposes.


Response

With the recent new era of blogging, it is no surprise to see many of my friends take up this new “sport’. Many enjoy blogging about their everyday encounters, as well as their thoughts and ideas on things. However, we will often come across certain “junk posts”, fulfilling no purpose other than to insult people or to put people down, and often very easily.

Being a regular blogger myself, I understand the pros, as well as the cons of blogging. Blogging is not without its prices. If we do not practice discretion, and say whatever we want, it is certain that we will get ourselves into serious trouble. Just like in reality, when interacting with others, even if we feel very strongly about something or someone, we do not say it outright, because we know that the time is inappropriate. Similarly, it should hold the same for blogging. Blogging, after all, is merely a means of expressing your ideas online.

In the perspective of a blogger, we probably feel that we have every right to express our ideas and thoughts. After all, we have been granted individual liberty, so we should make full use of it. We blog on everything that comes to mind, be it complements or insults. Even for me, it is difficult at times to hold back what I want to say, and occasionally I do post certain things that are unpleasant to others. Nevertheless, certain comments would definitely cause conflicts to occur, sometimes with undesirable consequences. This has been proven from the few blogging incidents which resulted in students being expelled.

A likely reason why so many harmful comments have appeared online is because blogging offers a lot of anonymity. People enjoy this anonymity as they do not have to be accountable for their actions, and can blog without fear. However, this fearlessness is precisely the reason why so many harmful comments have been openly posted online. Astonishingly, even when caught, these bloggers do not admit to their posts at all.

If one has written something, why is he afraid to stand by it? It is his own work, and he should be prepared to support it. It is assumed, of course, that the bloggers have thought critically about what they are going to write before they actually do it. Thus we assume that they should be able to defend their own writings. However, many a time bloggers do not really think through their words, but merely comment on whatever comes to mind. Then, when they are caught, they do not admit to what they write, because they did not really think through their own arguments, and thus it would not seem wise to support such an argument.

The best way to solve this problem would be to reveal our real identities. Only then will we write seriously, with facts to back it up. When the need arises, we can defend our arguments without fear. In the end, discretion is the most important tool in communication.

Personal Response to Current Affairs

This is my fifth response to current affairs, which is on issues regarding teenagers. The article was taken from The Straits Times, 1 August 2007. The author of the article is Elena Chong.



Student stabbed youth in break-in attempt

Background

The article talks about a Seconday Four student, Syafiq Hussin who had attempted housebreaking and theft, as well as severely injuring a resident of the house. According to the article, Syafiq attempted to theft to get money to feed his online gaming addiction after his parents had refused him money. He had regretted his decision to resort to crime.


Response

Syafiq has committed many crimes since the start of his gaming addiction. The severity of the problem is not to be underestimated, as it can lead to terrible consequences. The fact that Syafiq could even resort to theft, as well as stabbing the occupant of the house resulting in life-threatening injuries, shows that his addiction has led him to become so fearless that even committing these major crimes means nothing compared to him. Furthermore, he actually relates his theft attempt to his gaming experiences, saying that he got a kick out of doing it! Syafiq’s liking for games involving weapons and fighting has apparently influenced his thinking to a certain extent. His obsession with online games has made him oblivious to any consequences of these crimes, with only the aim of getting money to buy accessories and the like for his games in his mind. He admits that due to a mere moment’s folly, he had wasted his future and is now in remorse.

This problem has not been a first. Reports of teenagers robbing, stealing or housebreaking to take money are common. It is an indication of the severity of this problem that cannot be ignored. Not only are teenagers putting disregard for the laws, they are also being heavily influenced by these games. For a mere game, they can rob, steal, and possibly even kill. The psychology of teens nowadays seems to be that committing crimes is all right, as long as they are not caught, and they achieve their aim—in the case of this article, to get money. This wrong psychology is extremely harmful and damaging to society. How will these people, with their wrong frame of mind, possibly be able to lead the country in the future?

From any elder’s point of view, these actions are surely not condoned as they are extremely immoral as well as foolish. Stealing, robbing and injuring people are definitely not methods that anyone would define as moral.

However, from the teenager’s point of view, things are very different. They view it as something justifiable, and something that others can empathise with, and understand their rationale for their actions. It is possible that teenagers do so much to maintain their game status, because the game allows them to forget about their academics and their worries, allowing them to escape from the harshness of the real world, and giving them immense pleasure. Thus, they feel that in sustaining it, they have something to look forward to in the otherwise boring, and seemingly meaningless life.

Though this rationale appears innocent and harmless, but the methods the teenagers employ to achieve it are definitely not. I can relate well to his thoughts and reasoning, being a relatively avid gamer myself, and having experienced the pleasures of gaming personally. However, I do not think that supporting one’s gaming addiction can ever be sufficient to justify one’s committing serious crimes. Whatever the reason, committing crimes is never and will never be correct.