Terrorism in Singapore

Article: DPM warns of radical ideas being spread through Internet
Category: Societal Issues
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/261659/1/.html
Date: 2nd March 2007

Summary: Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng has warned that a new terror phenomenon has emerged and the internet age is to blame. Besides about 6,000 websites with pro-terrorist ideas, there are also websites which teach everything from dismantling weapons to making a homemade bomb, leading to the worry that young singaporeans would be wrongly exposed to terrorist ideas.

I find this problem quite worrying, for it is easy to access information on the Internet, and yet it is hard to completely shut down terrorist websites. Therefore I strongly agree with DPM Wong that a more effective method of preventing terrorist manifestations in Singapore would be to go online and counter such extremist propaganda. When young Singaporeans hear the serious consequences of terrorism from the government itself, they would most likely be inclined to stop any form of influence terrorist propaganda might have been having on them.

Education definitely has a huge role to play. Singaporean youths must be able to understand the severity of terrorism and why they should not subscribe to the radical ideas of terror organisations. Having speakers visiting schools or setting up websites to educate teenagers about the threat of terrorism could help reduce the influence of terrorism among our youth today.

If one were to view this problem from a different perspective, one could say that teens breed such radical ideas due to a lack of multi-racialism. As Singaporean youths did not live through the tough times of racial and religious disorder in our country a few decades ago, they fail to understand the importance of multi-racialism towards the functioning and survival of Singapore as a whole. Personally I have also found it hard to understand the true severity of racial disputes as I have never witnessed any major inter-racial disputes in my life, so I have to be constantly reminded about how Singapore would fall without inter-racial harmony both by the wiser older generation of our country and by the teaching of past events in school. That is the step the Singapore government has to take in order to prevent young Singaporeans like myself from developing incorrect and inappropriate extremist ideas.

Some may believe that one day we would be able to completely rid our world of terrorism, as we are constantly taking a step closer towards eradicating them, having captured important figureheads like Saddam Hussein and working hard towards the eventual capture of the man at the top of it all, Osama bin Laden. Yet I personally feel that even if he were captured and killed, terrorists would still be able to worship a new leader and continue spreading their influence around the world.

In fact, as technology advances, terrorists would not only be able to spread their influence more quickly, but would also be able to carry out more terrifying and unpreventable misdeeds on the human race. We can never completely eradicate the terrorists themselves, yet one thing we can surely do, is stop their influence. I may be assuming that education will receive a positive response from the Singaporean youths, and the innocent me may be careless in saying that the influence of terrorists can be completely stopped, but I strongly feel that if everyone remains well-informed, working hand-in-hand in the fight against terrorism, we would still eventually be able to bring world peace to this planet we call home.

(500 words)

Teen Addiction to Gaming

Article: Confessions of an ex-gaming junkie
Category: Issues regarding teenagers
Source: The Sunday Times, February 11 2007

Summary: Benjamin Toh, a 17-year old boy from top boys' school, was active in school until he became addicted to MapleStory, an online fantasy game. He spent hours playing the game, skipping his meals, sacrificing his sleep, playing for up to 20 hours a day and neglecting his studies to the extent that he had to be retained in Secondary 3. However he has since turned over a new leaf, restricting himself to 2-3 hours of gaming a day and working hard to regain what he has lost due to his over-indulgence in the virtual world. He tells reporter Tessa Wong what went wrong.

An increasing number of teenagers in our society today are getting hooked to online gaming, neglecting their studies and some even ruining their future, which makes me wonder what could possibly cause such extreme addiction to gaming.

The simplest reason would be the high and rapidly advancing level of technology in our world today, which allows for the production of mind-blowing games with brilliant graphics and exciting gameplay that teens have every reason to fall in love with today.

Another important cause of gaming addiction would definitely be stress. As society becomes more affluent, life becomes more challenging. Teenagers today are faced with a tougher education system and increasing expectations from the people around them, causing a huge amount of stress. Like Benjamin I am also a student, and as such I can understand the position people like him are in. Yet, I feel that the reason for him being able to play for 20 hours on end is something else altogether, and is perhaps one of the more serious causes of gaming addiction.

As teenagers our parents play a vital role in our lives. We need them both to love us and to point out the right paths in life to us. Many of these teens who are addicted to online gaming come from broken families, or have parents who aren't there for them when they truly need them. Without parental love teens feel unwanted, and can even develop a sense of hatred towards their parents such that they indulge themselves in the virtual world just to avoid facing them at home. Without parental guidance, teens tend to take up the wrong paths in life, going for what they enjoy without having someone wiser to teach them what is truly right. Therefore I believe that it is this lack of parental influence that is the main and most serious cause of gaming addiction in teens.

As teens assume their virtual identities they enter a world where they live among their friends, free to express themselves and ungoverned by the strict authority and high expectations they face in the real world, as such an addiction is developed, not to the game itself, but to its purpose as a place where they can avoid the problems they face in life.

Privileged to have parents who care for me and never fail to guide me along the right paths in my life, I may not truly understand the situation these teens are in. Here I am attributing the lack of parental influence as the main cause of teens to take the wrong paths in their lives, yet I may not understand how some parents have tried their very best to help their kids, but to no avail. Still, I strongly believe that as long as both the teens and their parents are willing to work hand in hand, they can eventually break free of their addiction to online gaming and work towards building a better future for themselves, just like Benjamin did.

(500 words)

Welcome

From this day forth, this blog will be where I give my two cents worth of opinions on the issues concerning our world today.

Mind you, this blog is a graded assignment, so while I try my very best to be politically correct, I hope you will do your part by saying "NO!" to spamming(mimics action of people on say no to drugs brochures), even though you may(in complete disagreement with the way I view this world) see me as a fool; For even the darndest of fools, has his story to tell.