By Qiuyi Tan | Posted: 28
April 2012 1416 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee
Hean said social media is a double-edged sword for social
cohesion.
He was speaking at the annual dialogue for the Community Engagement
Programme, a national social cohesion and crisis response
network.
DPM Teo said the very same Internet that connects Singaporeans can
also isolate people and disrupt social harmony.
"Anonymity on the Internet emboldens people, encouraging them to
take on more extreme views than they might otherwise. The Internet
also amplifies the extreme views even though they might be in the
minority, and virtual mobs form to cheer or jeer, which only help
to accentuate the differences, polarise and inflame emotions
further," he said.
Some 600 community, business and youth leaders, and several
government ministers joined the dialogue on Singapore's social
challenges.
Online behaviour, especially on social media, was a recurrent theme
across all the five dialogue groups.
"If we believe that the majority of Singaporeans are rational and
calm in our responses, then surely this will be reflected in the
way we relate to each other, be it on the social media space or
mainstream media. One of the conclusions from my group was that all
of us have this responsibility. At the end of the day, you can't
have one set of rules being imposed on a community, if the
community does not own that set of rules," said Singapore Acting
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Chan Chun
Sing.
Mr Chan said he hopes netizens will come forward to collectively
shape the norms of online behaviour that are acceptable for
Singaporeans.
Technology was one of three driving forces Mr Teo said can have a
profound impact on Singapore's social resilience.
Another driving force - immigration. Mr Teo said Singapore needs to
pay "extra attention" to new immigrants who are ready to sink their
roots here. He urged Singaporeans to play their part in making new
citizens feel more welcome.
Extremism, too, remains on the radar.
Mr Teo said the extremist threat includes self-radicalised "lone
wolves", like Norwegian gunman Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people
last year.
But this threat can also rally people together in the fight against
terror, and this is where regular dialogues can play a useful role
in strengthening the common ground across Singapore's different
racial and religious communities.
- CNA
