How to save our youth from the bad influence of globalization has become a serious issue. The world today changed into a global village where everything became open and within reach. Experts say it is crucial to keep an eye on youth and advise them on what is immoral and what is right for them.
Saud Dohayan has been a professor of social services since 2002. He is the president of the sign language department at the Ministry of Education, member of the National Committee of Human Rights, member of the National Committee for Anti-drugs. In an exclusive interview with Arab News he talked about the risks youth faces today.
Dohayan said the youth at risk is due to many reasons, drugs being a principal one among those. Many kids nowadays start using drugs at the age of 8, when 10 years ago it were 12 years and 20 years ago it was 14 or 16.
“The life style is changing from living in an extended family to being confined to one unit. Social media did not exist and families were protected by social and moral values. There is a need for more awareness, to educate our youth and protect them from bad influences like drugs and the Internet,” he said. “Parents these days are busy with their lives, they don’t have time for children,” he added.
He said this had a detrimental effect on society and youth. It changed the face of society. Children turn to the streets or have their own world. This leads to exploring drugs as kids have a natural curiosity and no one is there to guide them.
“We need educational programs to address our youth about addictions, how to take care of themselves, what are drugs, how it will bring changes in your life, what is the adverse effects of them on your life and others,” he said “It is a serious problem that most countries are facing due to the spread of drugs in society. My research shows there are many social, economic and psychological factors that lead to the problem, in school, in the neighborhood and in the work area,” he explained.
Saudi Arabia has a good breeding ground for drugs, due to many reasons, said Dohayan, and one of them is the high income. Many drug dealers focus on Saudi Arabia in the hope to get higher profits. The second reason is education itself. Through education we should spread more awareness on what drugs are and how will they affect our bodies, said Dohayan.
“I studied drug abusers and came to know that they usually start using drugs just to explore and out of curiosity. In a movie, when the actor smokes a cigarette and became happy and in a good mood, children may want to try it,” said Dohayan “There are three main points, which they actually don’t understand. Kids don’t know they will get addicted to drugs like heroine after the first use. They think their body will not change, while many drugs have physical and psychological affects. Thirdly, they believe they can quit at any time, which is not possible because the personality of the drug abuser becomes very weak,” he added.
He said drugs could destroy a whole life. Drugs such as heroine can damage the brain cells, the only cells in the body that don’t reproduce.
Dohayan said the youth should be saved from drug abuse, or this country would lose its future. "We will lose our future workforce. Abusers spend a lot of money on drugs and may even leave the country to get easy access to drugs,” he said.
He further said that drugs are not the only addiction. Nowadays the Internet is also a problem. Youth spend more hours on the net, through messenger, Facebook and Twitter.
“They spend 6 to 8 hours on the net, they don't do anything useful and simply waste their time. It's dangerous; they will be lonely instead of becoming social. Youth should spend time with their family, instead of sitting in front of the screen of the computer, laptop or iPad,” he added.
“There is no direct message to the youth about the harmful effects of drugs and internet in the media, in children’s programs or in any means in our society, which is extremely valuable. Before stopping the youth, we have to explain to them the effects of addictions. These messages should come in the way they like it, as for children through cartoons and story books, for teen age youth, with interactive programs,” he added.
Dohayan said there is a need to do research on the subject to gain insight in the problem we have in our country. “Even though we have one language of research, there is no trend of sharing. If work will be done as a team, it will be more beneficial for the development of the country and youth.”
Impact of the Internet and drugs on youth studied
