Online Activities Bad For Morality: Thai Culture Ministry Secretary

[webfact]

Online activities bad for morality

The Nation

Thai young people's current distant relationship with their parents is contributing to social problems and a drop in morality, made more easily possible by their online activities and social networking, Culture Ministry permanent secretary Somchai Sianglai said yesterday.

Citing an international study on youth and protection three years ago, he said that although many young people in Thailand tended to say prayers at temple events or observe Buddhist teachings on ceremonial occasions, about 40 per cent said |they did not believe in the Law of Karma and in doing good.

"This indicates an immediate solution is to make access to religion easier to encourage young people to further embrace religious values," he said.

Somchai said a 2008 Child Watch report indicated that the divorce rate in Thailand had increased from 1 in 10 in 1999 to 1 in 3 now. The situation, where children stay home but get less time with parents - dubbed "virtual orphans" - meant the family institution in Thailand was getting weaker.

Thai youths' online activities had increased from 23 per cent in 2007 to 31 per cent in the following two years. An estimated increase to 35 to 40 per cent was possible next year.

Growth in Facebook users among Thais was now third-highest in the world, increasing from 1.9 million in 2009 to 10 million as of last year, and could reach 15 million next year.

Somchai, however, lauded a positive aspect of the Facebook boom in Thailand, saying young people aged 18-24 - 40 per cent of all local users - were tending to expand their volunteerism using it. "A policy to promote Facebook and other online social networking services to good use will be important to develop a good culture for the coming generations," he added.

-- The Nation 2012-01-05

[manarak]

Education, communication, science, independent thought and inquisitive mind are bad for morality too.

[ccarbaugh]

hmmm, so North Korea should be the MOST moral and Karma aware country on Earth - right?

[laurentbkk]

Yes sure ,its always easy to blame internet ,..... blame also the car manufacturers for all the road's accidents .

[bushwacker]

"about 40 per cent said |they did not believe in the Law of Karma and in doing good."

Law of Karma ... is that like the Law of Gravity?

[HOOD Robin]

"about 40 per cent said |they did not believe in the Law of Karma and in doing good."

Law of Karma ... is that like the Law of Gravity?

i didn't know TH had any law...

This guy is jealous cos he doesn't understand anything about computer/internet

i was surprised he didn't mention that so many youngsters spend Day and NIGHT in internet shops, only for playing games where they learn to.... KILL other people, injure/torture etc... others. This is EVIL for Thailand. But nobody cares about that as... it's part of the culture ? Brains ? Hard to find between banana's and mango's

[rotary]

Everything has good points and bad points. I believe that Facebook, or Farcebook(ha ha) and Twitter have more bad points than good. Looks like to me they cause lots of divorces and problems in the world.

[lounger]

"Thai young people's current distant relationship with their parents......................"

That's rich.

Most of the kids I know ( not many) dont know who their parents are. Working parents farm the kids out to relatives who have different standards and home comforts. I can think of several children who are socially inept, lost in no mans land and severely lacking confidence all through being passed round the relatives while the parents make a better life for themselves. These kids come and visit me and my wife as we are a consistent value, wow are they clutching at straws.

I would suggest that the main constant in these kids lives is the internet or communication that the internet provides

Edited January 6, 2012 by metisdead
Please do not post in all capital letters, bold, unusual fonts, sizes or colors. It can be difficult to read.

[lounger]

Everything has good points and bad points. I believe that Facebook, or Farcebook(ha ha) and Twitter have more bad points than good. Looks like to me they cause lots of divorces and problems in the world.

Are you sure its not your rabbit good looks.....?

Anyway how can communication cause problems. If someone wants out they dont need facebook to get some.

[maidu]

'distant relationship with parents' ........what's the % of deadbeat dads in Thailand? Doesn't help the equation that there are no laws compelling dads to take any responsibility for kids they sire, then abandon.

Bad influence? Start with politicians. The most popular politician in Thailand is a person who cheated the most on taxes. Message to youngsters: The more you cheat on taxes, the more popular you become.

Similarly, again with politicians, nearly all of them get rich by underhanded dealings. Message to youngsters: get rich (and then you can buy all the whitening cream and digital gizmos you want!) .....by cheating and lying. Also, if you need a refresher in effective lying, go study any of Mr. Thaksin's statements of the past 8 years.

[EvilDrSomkid]

Whereas rampant government corruption is not bad at all for kids' morality, right? "NO, is Thai culture" "You no understand our culture!"

[philhal2]

Of Course none of the young people believe , they see the corruption and the immorality of the people who profess to be the leaders throughout the world and Thailand , who steal , lie , cheat and kill without fear of retribution or punishment . Why would they have any respect or want to continue to do good as cheap slaves for this type of system ???????

[paulfr]

Education, communication, science, independent thought and inquisitive mind are bad for morality too.

Are you equating Religion with morality ?

If so, then one can argue that, for instance, Science is bad for Religion.

Indeed they have been at odds for centuries.

Independent thought too diverts one from the Religious doctrine.

Secular Education too.

Problem is that morality and Religion are not the same.

So these aspects of modern life are in no way in conflict with morality.

JMHO

Edited January 5, 2012 by paulfr

[Thaddeus]

what's the % of deadbeat dads in Thailand? Doesn't help the equation that there are no laws compelling dads to take any responsibility for kids they sire, then abandon.

Actually, there are. But like most laws here, they are selectively enforced.

[zakk9]

hmmm, so North Korea should be the MOST moral and Karma aware country on Earth - right?

That's the direction these guys are heading anyway. They're just waiting for their beloved leader, the Great Tak Il Sin to complete his act.

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

"immediate solution is to make access to religion easier"...Don't they mean shove it down there throats...? And I would love to know where they get there numbers from...Out of a hat...? And do they take a ruler to your wrist if you don't follow the "law of Karma"...? Cloak and dagger double talk with a bit of hippocracy for taste...

[khaowong1]

There was a lot of good responses on this subject. For us farangs it's pretty easy to see the problems, especially when we live out among the Thai people. But like the one poster said, "your farang, you don't understand Thai culture." Which is total BS.

[najman]

"about 40 per cent said |they did not believe in the Law of Karma and in doing good."

Law of Karma ... is that like the Law of Gravity?

Yep, What you put out comes back to you unless to take actions to redeem yourself. Guy uses bar girl, bar girl uses guy. Guys lie to bar girls, bar girls lie to guys. Man cheats on wife, wife cheats on him (or his gik does) treat people poorly, he gets treated poorly back by others. don't take care of the environment the environment strikes back. ad infinitum.

[DocN]

Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, Ozzy, Kiss, Marilyn Manson, Facebook, Video Games...isn't it nice, when you have a scapegoat for your own failures?

In a culture where parents send their daughters to work in bars, where men can <deleted> around without any responsibility for the offspring they produce, where 3 bare breasted teenagers are a problem- but not 3 whole roads of GoGo Bars, Lady Bars and more or less open prostitution, where "politics" and "moral" or "ethics" are words, that should never be mentioned in the same sentence, where childporn is sold openly on the streets and the police is looking the other way...yep...facebook is the problem!

Sometimes I find it very, very hard not to be "thai- bashing"...especially when I read crap like this article.

[spidermike007]

Culture Ministry permanent secretary Somchai Siangla is a goomba. He attributes the higher divorce rate amongst thais, to the internet. Meanwhile most of the thails I run into, of marrying age, never visit the internet. Most of these farmers who are getting divorced, do not even have internet access in their villages. For such a terribly uninformed man to be cultural minister speaks volumes about how lost "Yingbat" is, and how feeble the system of political patronage is there in the LOS. There are so few competent politicians here, and they seem to go out of their way to appoint people with NO QUALIFICATIONS, to these important posts. Siangla does both himself, and his country a disservice, when his statements are filled with such an extraordinary degree of ignorance. This man is very, very simple minded to say the least. An IQ of room temperature, perhaps (that is in farenheit).

[alexth]

Networking that ends up in divorces, break ups, sex and so on does not affect me as much as watching kids hooked on that stuff 24/7. I see 6, 7, 8, 9 years old kids that spend ALL of their free time in front of the computer, with their eyes glued to that s**t, instead of going out playing kids games, do sports and what most of us (in our 30s or older) used to do when we were kids. You ask one of the little clitters about stuff like hide and seek, cops and robbers and so on and they look at you like you're from another planet and when you try to explain them, they don't even know where to begin and comprehend the idea. That is truly sad, at least for me it is.

Since ever, I only had 2 dates I meet online and it wasn't a "hello! how are you? let's meet up" kind of thing, more like related to some common activities (not sex related ) and with one of them I'm best friends now after almost 5 years, other than that, I think that finding girlfriends online is just pathetic

[Cheops]

"Thai youths' online activities had increased from 23 per cent in 2007 to 31 per cent in the following two years. An estimated increase to 35 to 40 per cent was possible next year."

Well, that's probably just because more people have gotten access to internet. Most likely it is not that of all the people which had already internet they increased their online activity.

"meant the family institution in Thailand was getting weaker."

In the past most children grew up with their parents, so they had a better family bond, but now most parents just send their kid(s) to other family members to be raised there while the parents just have a life of their own working and other things. I know many Thai people with kids, but many send them to family and don't take care of the children themself. So what can you expect from this. Of course the family institution is getting weaker. This is besides the fact that the divorce rate is going up, but we see this also in western countries, so nothing new here. It's certainly not the internet to blame for this!

i was surprised he didn't mention that so many youngsters spend Day and NIGHT in internet shops, only for playing games where they learn to.... KILL other people, injure/torture etc... others. This is EVIL for Thailand. But nobody cares about that as... it's part of the culture ? Brains ? Hard to find between banana's and mango's

Yes, HOOD Robin hit the hammer on the nail. I think the internet shops and online gaming is much more of a problem than Facebook!

[w11guy]

Everything has good points and bad points. I believe that Facebook, or Farcebook(ha ha) and Twitter have more bad points than good. Looks like to me they cause lots of divorces and problems in the world.

Are you for real? How can facebook and Twitter cause divorce? Do you live in some kind of fantasy world?

[TAWP]

Ministry of Culture has and always will be the collection-ministry of those that fail at life and need an easy way out. It is a manufactured Ministry without any purpose and is responsible for more inane suggestions and proposals than all other ministries combined - and that doesn't say a little!

The sooner someone axes that complete fabrication of a Ministry, the better.

[alexth]

Everything has good points and bad points. I believe that Facebook, or Farcebook(ha ha) and Twitter have more bad points than good. Looks like to me they cause lots of divorces and problems in the world.

Are you for real? How can facebook and Twitter cause divorce? Do you live in some kind of fantasy world?

No, but sadly a lot of people do. Pathetic, but this is the world we live in

[Cheops]

going out playing kids games, do sports and what most of us (in our 30s or older) used to do when we were kids.

I think that finding girlfriends online is just pathetic

"going out playing kids games, do sports and what most of us (in our 30s or older) used to do when we were kids."

Yes, I did that too when I was a kid, BUT then again all the electronic toys (PC's, iPads, touchscreen phones, Xbox etc.) were not easily available as it is now was it? The KEY is that you as a parent (I think you don't have kids if I read your comment (correct me if I'm wrong)) are responsible of what content they get exposed to. My 2 kids (1,5 and 4,5 year) are already using the PC and iPad, but I make sure that they cannot find violent games to play. You need to use these electronic toys in advantage to help them learn their ABC's etc. Of course it's more difficult to control the more old they get, but the point is that you as a parent for sure have influence in this.

"I think that finding girlfriends online is just pathetic"

Well, it's just the modern way of communication, so for sure there are more people who find a girl on the net (I didn't, but I can imagine that it can happen more and more in this Facebook time)

[wxyz]

Instant Karma's gonna get you

Gonna knock you right on the head

You better get yourself together

Pretty soon you're gonna be dead

John Lennon - "Instant Karma"

[chooka]

'distant relationship with parents' ........what's the % of deadbeat dads in Thailand? Doesn't help the equation that there are no laws compelling dads to take any responsibility for kids they sire, then abandon.

Bad influence? Start with politicians. The most popular politician in Thailand is a person who cheated the most on taxes. Message to youngsters: The more you cheat on taxes, the more popular you become.

Similarly, again with politicians, nearly all of them get rich by underhanded dealings. Message to youngsters: get rich (and then you can buy all the whitening cream and digital gizmos you want!) .....by cheating and lying. Also, if you need a refresher in effective lying, go study any of Mr. Thaksin's statements of the past 8 years.

dam_n Thaksin is doing it again. Why can't he take responsiblity for all the children he has fathered?

[FOODLOVER]

I recommend World of Tanks for the best online experience but have not tried the new Star Wars The Old Republic.

[maidu]

Here are some suggestions for the Minister of Culture:

>>>> Develop nature parks. Not cement covered places of homage to a man or a religion.

>>>> More libraries. In my Thai town of a half million people there is a library that wouldn't do justice to a very small college.

>>>> Youth Centers. In Thailand there about, hmmm, let me see, about zero youth centers. Extra-school places where youngsters can study art, dance, music, sport for free, with mature non-predatary adults supervising. Could be coupled with libraries.

>>>> Animal shelters. Last time I checked there were about zero animal shelters in Thailand. If there are any, let me know,thanks. ....which also offer free sterilization for pets and boarding for strays. Unwanted or unclaimed pets, after a month, get euthenized.