Facebook conundrum

Facebook is a social media site used by persons of all ages. From urban areas to villages wherever internet is available it is impossible to find a person who does not have a Facebook account. However it has become a topic of much debate in Sri Lanka recently as the site has been linked to the deaths of a number of youth deaths in the country. The issue has deteriorated so much so that Sri Lanka police has even established a special unit to handle incidents related to Facebook. According to Police Spokesperson SSP Ajith Rohana the unit will handle incidents related to Facebook and take action if a crime has been committed. It is said that crimes committed due to social media in the country have recorded an increase within the past few months.

Issues

Facebook came in to being in 2004. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg it soon became a very popular online social networking site among many eventually overtaking sites such as Myspace and Hi5. The site has become a part of our day to day lives. We are constantly on Facebook even at home, work and even on the go. We put our whole lives on display publicly and share every detail from lunch to holidays with our Facebook friends. However despite its popularity Facebook has faced many issues the more serious being linked to many deaths of youth for various reasons.

Currently Neknomination is all the rage across the world and has caused many deaths. While the term maybe alien to us Neknomination is a drinking game. The British tabloid newspaper Metro has reported that at least five deaths in the United Kingdom and Ireland are believed to be caused by the drinking game. Facebook has been accused of promoting the online drinking craze linked to the deaths of two young men in Ireland and Politicians in Ireland have since demanded the social networking site acts fast to halt the game and its promotion.

Youths have also committed suicide due to bullying incidents on Facebook. Lewis Thelwall a 19-year-old from England was targeted by young women bullies on Facebook hanged himself after months of torment. False rumors about him were put out on Facebook, and the coroner attached to the case warned users of social networking sites to ‘think of the consequences’.

In Florida a Facebook page was discovered which had been created with the sole intent of bullying students in the area. While the creator of the page was anonymous it had graphically exposed local teens, naming them, showing their pictures and posting extremely crude comments.

Sri Lanka has recently faced its own issues with Facebook. Recently a school girl committed suicide as she was severely reprimanded by her school’s principal regarding a picture of her which was posted on the popular site by a third party. A few days later another youth followed suit. The 19-year-old girl from Mannagoda in Elpitiya, had committed suicide by hanging herself. According to the Police they believe that she had resorted to suicide over an incident where she had used a fake image as her own profile picture on her Facebook page. The girl had committed suicide when the youth, whom she had had a six-month long online affair with, had arrived at her residence.

Cyber crimes have increased tenfold recently according to the CEO of Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team/Coordination Center (Sri Lanka CERT|CC) Lal Dias. He revealed while CERT CC receives over 2,000 complaints annually, “Most of these complaints appear to be related to social media,” he said speaking to The Nation.

Following these incidents Minister of Cultural Affairs and Arts, TB Ekanayake is reported to have said that Facebook mafia should be controlled. The Minister had made the comments at a ceremony held in Galgamuwa recently. However The Socialist Youth Union (SYU), a youth organization affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had opined that the social media network, Facebook, should not be held responsible for the recent suicides and should not be banned.

National Organizer of the SYU and former parliamentarian, Bimal Ratnayake had said that young girls and boys have committed suicide due to illicit love affairs long before Facebook came into existence. The former parliamentarian had made the comments at a media conference held recently. He said that Sri Lanka has recorded the second largest number of suicides among young women, which is therefore a social problem the country needs to address, rather than a problem to do with Facebook.

According to the Country Manager of Microsoft, Imran Vilcassim, 75 percent of internet browsing in Sri Lanka is attributed to Facebook. Despite isolated incidents, a majority of Sri Lankans appear to use Social Media in an appropriate manner. So can we blame these deaths on Facebook? Or is it a much larger issue to do with problems such as Facebook addiction and mental health of our youth?

Sumithrayo is an organization which has done much for the mental health of our society. According to Director of Sumithrayo Sri Lanka, Surangi Gunawardena the organization is also using Facebook as a tool to promote themselves as it can have wider reach. “Relationship and family issues are the true causes of suicide, even if not for Facebook a person could commit suicide over a love letter,” she said.  

She added that there have been many copycat suicides and puts it down to unethical reporting by media. She strongly advised against reporting such deaths in detail.  “Media reports mention gory details of such deaths, they should refrain from doing so,” she said. According to her it is difficult to reach out to schools as the schools do not approve of them educating students on sex as it’s still a taboo topic in society. Sumithrayo will soon be getting a toll free number and persons can call this number to seek help.

Last year alone 1,200 complaints with regard to fake accounts on Facebook were registered with SLCERT|CC while another 30 were complaints pertaining to cyber crimes that were registered with the police. Speaking to The Nation Spokesperson for SLCERT|CC, Roshan Chandraguptha said, complaints made were mostly pertaining to fake Facebook accounts, and unauthorized usage of photographs and other information.

Ban

With such various incidents being linked to Facebook use in Sri Lanka, the site has faced a serious backlash in the country with calls for its ban and controls placed for its use. The site has been blocked intermittently in several countries including the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh citing various reasons with some suggesting that Sri Lanka should follow suit.

According to the World Organization for Preventing Suicides, 80,000 youth are reported to have attempted suicide in Sri Lanka annually while 400,000 have considered it, Ratnayake had pointed out. Organizations have to be set up with trained personnel to deal with social issues while Facebook itself could be used to overcome these issues, according to Ratnayake. He had added that Facebook will not be a problem if used wisely.

Yesterday President Mahinda Rajapaksa dispelled all rumors with regards to banning of Facebook in the country. The President tweeted that the government is attempting to promote safe use of social media and will not ban it. Mass Media and Information Minister of Sri Lanka Keheliya Rambukwella had said that while social media networks like Facebook has its value, a strategy is needed to address its adverse impact, especially on youth.

FB root of all evil?

Facebook can have many advantages if used properly. To many it’s a method of finding long lost friends, keeping in touch with loved ones abroad and even finding new friends. But is being on the site worth all the issues that come with it and will it ever be safe enough to use? Banning a site that has rooted itself in society is clearly not the answer to the issues. The crisis goes far beyond the simple issue of Facebook use. As society develops and internet becomes widely available, educating youth on how to correctly use such sites as well as the internet is in fact the need of the hour.