This is NOT funny !

Since past few years, emergence of a new trend has been observed—formation and forwarding of SMSs according to every new occasion and situation. Let it be any new advertisement, new announcement or the prevailing situation. However, what should be kept in mind is the difference between things that can be made fun of, and those that are not funny in any way.

The current disturbance and the alarming situation fall in the latter category, a state that is extremely serious and has no margin of being made fun of. Every time I pick up my cellular phone to see a few text messages regarding totkas and parodies and slogans referring to the recent killings in Karachi, I just wonder the extent to which we have gone numb. We, as a society have no feelings for those who are suffering and no emotions left in us to understand what should be made fun of and what should not. There are no moral ethics left behind to make us feel the severity of the situation.

This is not to suggest that each and every individual should start mourning, but at least out of respect for those who are losing their lives or their near and dear ones, such text messages should not be forwarded. This is not only a peaceful way of empathizing with the sufferers but is also our moral and ethical responsibility to behave properly if we can’t do anything else.

Refurbishing mindsets

Let’s take a trip down the memory lane and rewind the same Pakistani society about 10 years back. Everything would suddenly seem quite different, as at that time there was lesser ‘westernization’, communication wasn’t that easy and frequent, children used to spent more time in outdoor activities than on computer and TV, modes of entertainment were quite different, even trends were not the same and so forth.

The planet Earth now seems to be the exact implication of the term Global Village coined by Marshal McLuhan in 1962. Cultures and societies are slowly losing their identities to be dissolved in a global culture, and all this has happened within a short span of time- thanks to media.

All the changes that we observe around us are all part of that global changes being brought about by media that is undoubtedly the most powerful product of modern technology. Not only has it alter the thinking of people, but also has tendency of changing mindsets and bringing about a shift in attitudes and behaviors.

Recent history has several examples of the power of media and how it has brought changes in the approach of public by merely suppressing or promoting a particular issue.

Take trends for instance- you come to know what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’ through media. You realize that an incident is serious when it is repeatedly broadcasted on all the TV channels and the newspapers give special coverage to it.

Who tells you what to wear, what and where to eat, what to talk about, whom to condemn and whom to support, what looks fashionable and what looks odd- it is all done by media these days. This product of technology is now exercising its full powers over the hearts and minds of people.

Media holds the ability to make and alter public opinion, public’s outlook and to play with their sentiments and feelings. It is media that is controlling our lives in the truest sense of the word- through its vast influence.

However, as the idiom goes: uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Same implies to all the media of Mass Communication. It holds great responsibilities towards the society and towards its audience. The major duties of media are to Inform, Educate and Entertain people. It is up to the media professionals to provide all of them in a positive, constructive manner so as to allow the audience to be benefited from it.

It is the most powerful social tool available these days that can either lead to the destruction of a nation or its progress, and keeping in view the scenario of Pakistani society, it HAS to be used in a progressive way. It should be used to inculcate some etiquette and mannerism in the society and show them the right approach to life.

It is how a country like Pakistan, with literacy rate of less than 40%, can move towards a civilized form of life. Majority of the population is now dependent on media for getting educated, both formally and informally, as it has the aptitude to carry out mass education programs. All that needs to be done is the constructive use of media for ‘refurbishing mindsets’, so that the dreams of a better Pakistan can come true.

To express or not to express

Most of the times, I think about doing something, saying something to anyone, asking for some help, sharing something or telling how I really feel, but always end up thinking- 'it won't really matter, nobody cares, so just keep it to yourself'.
This decisions sometimes payoff, while at others it makes me curse the time I thought about it. I just keep wondering whether it is right or wrong to be an introvert, but never do I get an answer, neither can I stop being one.
This situation mostly misleads people, especially my friends (and some of the family members), and they end up thinking that I do not have any emotion for them, am not interested in anything that they say or do, and nothing matters to me.
Actuality, however, is exactly the opposite.
I do care, I do love, I do feel, the problem is- I just don't know how to express or not to express.
Whenever I am about to say it all out, something stops me from inside and tells me that there isn't any need to put your feelings on display.
So, I always end up keeping it to myself and then spend hours and hours wondering what would have happened had I said it out. Would it have made anyone happy? Or it would have sounded like those formal statements uttered by everyone around. There is no solution whatsoever, and I guess I would remain the same for the rest of my life.

However, no one knows what would be more soothing at the end of it- the unsaid words or all the things well expressed ...