Professor Fatayer Participates in the Sixth Communication Technology Conference in Ramallah
02 December 2010
On November 30th 2010, Professor Jawad Fatayer, University President Assistant for Graduate Affairs, participated in the Sixth Communication Technology Conference titled "Communication Technology: A Means for Offense or a Tool for Defense" which was organized by the Sawa Center at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Ramallah. Professor Fatayer's main work paper was "Violence and Modern Communication Technology" in which he discussed the meaning of violence and its various forms including verbal, physical, sexual as well as psychological violence.
In his speech, Professor Fatayer spoke about a new theoretical concept related to the issue of violence and technology which is the wide and actually dangerous gap between the social reality in which people live today and the virtual reality which he refers to as cybereality that they create using science fiction. Technology has enabled human beings to establish new virtual worlds in which anything can happen and in which there are few limitations on what they can do. He also pointed out the danger that emerges due to such gap and its impact on people's way of thinking and perception of things especially children and adolescents.
This technology has a profound impact on the way violent tendencies among children, teenagers and women in particular are developed through their direct interaction with movies that include violent and bloody scenes. He warned in this context from the development of emotional numbness as a result of minimal social interaction due to intensive use and exposure to technology ,especially among youth of both genders. Fatayer referred to the phenomenon of Objectification of human by which people view others ,especially women as sex-objects.
Professor Fatayer also explained his theory of personality or character including the Zero Personality which has emerged and developed through the past years. This personality is defined as the one which is very negative, unable to participate, do not contribute to the development of its environment and is often unwilling to work or achieve. He also discussed the impact of technology on such personality whether in the negative or positive way and explained some of the features of this personality including digital thinking, technical mind, passive feelings, and tendency towards isolation and avoiding contact with others. As a result, this will transform the person who possesses such personality into a violence-addict. Moreover, Professor Fatayer emphasized that there is a great chance that young people will develop addiction to technology, especially video games, mobile phones and TV shows that consume most of their time and interest these days.
He defined this kind of addiction as Gamma Addiction which consumes the addict's mind and feelings. He also mentioned that another type of threat could emerge which is the Cyber Bullying which is the use of information technology to support deliberate and hostile behavior by an individual or group of people dedicated to inflect harm on others. He spoke about the number of victims to this kind of violence most of which are young children and girls. According to this kind of bullying, a person falls victim to sexual and physical violence or some kind of exploitation, intimidation and insult.
He then spoke about the electronic language which young people have introduced, known as Cyberarabic . This phenomenon reflects a deficit in the cultural identity of the people and highlights the need to look at the positive things in which those people are trying to become innovative. Finally, Professor Fatayer said that the issue of violence is a public health one, meaning it is not only confined to the Palestinian or Arab societies, but concerns the international one as well. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of coordinating efforts among the different local civil society institutions including families, schools, media and decision makers in order to control this issue and make sure that its negative impacts are eliminated.
He also said that this issue is a psychological, social, economical and political one and that it is vital to create a new awareness among the people regarding the issue of violence and to bring the offender to justice. Strong laws and strict regulations must be enforced if we are to establish a society in which peace, justice and freedom prevail, a society that is civilized.
He also spoke about the possibility of replacing the current GPS system (Global Positioning System) with the GPI (Global Peace Index). The GPI is an attempt to measure the relative degree of peacefulness of different nations and countries around the world. It is the product of the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global non-profit research organization headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and was developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts.
In his speech, Professor Fatayer spoke about a new theoretical concept related to the issue of violence and technology which is the wide and actually dangerous gap between the social reality in which people live today and the virtual reality which he refers to as cybereality that they create using science fiction. Technology has enabled human beings to establish new virtual worlds in which anything can happen and in which there are few limitations on what they can do. He also pointed out the danger that emerges due to such gap and its impact on people's way of thinking and perception of things especially children and adolescents.
This technology has a profound impact on the way violent tendencies among children, teenagers and women in particular are developed through their direct interaction with movies that include violent and bloody scenes. He warned in this context from the development of emotional numbness as a result of minimal social interaction due to intensive use and exposure to technology ,especially among youth of both genders. Fatayer referred to the phenomenon of Objectification of human by which people view others ,especially women as sex-objects.
Professor Fatayer also explained his theory of personality or character including the Zero Personality which has emerged and developed through the past years. This personality is defined as the one which is very negative, unable to participate, do not contribute to the development of its environment and is often unwilling to work or achieve. He also discussed the impact of technology on such personality whether in the negative or positive way and explained some of the features of this personality including digital thinking, technical mind, passive feelings, and tendency towards isolation and avoiding contact with others. As a result, this will transform the person who possesses such personality into a violence-addict. Moreover, Professor Fatayer emphasized that there is a great chance that young people will develop addiction to technology, especially video games, mobile phones and TV shows that consume most of their time and interest these days.
He defined this kind of addiction as Gamma Addiction which consumes the addict's mind and feelings. He also mentioned that another type of threat could emerge which is the Cyber Bullying which is the use of information technology to support deliberate and hostile behavior by an individual or group of people dedicated to inflect harm on others. He spoke about the number of victims to this kind of violence most of which are young children and girls. According to this kind of bullying, a person falls victim to sexual and physical violence or some kind of exploitation, intimidation and insult.
He then spoke about the electronic language which young people have introduced, known as Cyberarabic . This phenomenon reflects a deficit in the cultural identity of the people and highlights the need to look at the positive things in which those people are trying to become innovative. Finally, Professor Fatayer said that the issue of violence is a public health one, meaning it is not only confined to the Palestinian or Arab societies, but concerns the international one as well. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of coordinating efforts among the different local civil society institutions including families, schools, media and decision makers in order to control this issue and make sure that its negative impacts are eliminated.
He also said that this issue is a psychological, social, economical and political one and that it is vital to create a new awareness among the people regarding the issue of violence and to bring the offender to justice. Strong laws and strict regulations must be enforced if we are to establish a society in which peace, justice and freedom prevail, a society that is civilized.
He also spoke about the possibility of replacing the current GPS system (Global Positioning System) with the GPI (Global Peace Index). The GPI is an attempt to measure the relative degree of peacefulness of different nations and countries around the world. It is the product of the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global non-profit research organization headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and was developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts.
