In the hands of wrongdoers, technology such as social media and smart devices is a dangerous weapon, especially when aimed at children, warned His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

His comments came during his address at the opening ceremony of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) at Expo Centre Sharjah on Wednesday.

Sheikh Dr. Sultan said such technology has the power to mislead children and control them as puppets wherever they are, describing its overuse as an addiction. He added that adults and leaders have a responsibility to keep a watchful eye of children’s use of such means of communication, whose proliferation has become chaotic.

“Unsupervised and almost anarchist use of technology by our sons and daughters is slowly leading them into isolation, and we must stop this. “Sheikh Dr. Sultan added.

He described the trend as a bulldozer flattening everything in its path. However, Sheikh Dr. Sultan said society should not close the doors on such technology, but rather use knowledge to prevent its misuse. He said only when we immunise society against the negative aspects of such means, can we embrace and promote this kind of digital technology. The Ruler of Sharjah called on IGCF delegates to find answers to this predicament.

He also spoke about the need for the Arab world to supersede the “defeat of 1967”, alluding to the war in that year between Arab states and Israel.  Sheikh Dr. Sultan called on the Arab world to learn from the success stories of other nations who prospered even though they had lost wars, such as Germany, South Korea and Japan.