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PRIYAN DE SILVA 

 Presenting the findings of a research on ‘Freedom of Expression and  New media culture in Sri Lanka’  Programme Director at the Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) Mohamed Azad asserted that  61.8% of those who participated in the survey considered social media as a reliable source of information,  relating to important issues such as health and well-being. They had affirmed that they obtained information relating to COVID-19, such as vaccinations and government guidelines, from social media.

According to the SDJF report the new media landscape in Sri Lanka has drastically changed over the past decade as a wider population across the country had gained access to the Internet. Moreover, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt in Sri Lanka in early 2020, the transition towards conducting business operations and online learning facilities, through digital platforms had received a boost.

 The report also states that the use of internet grew due to the pandemic and therefore became even more relevant to understand the opportunities and limits of freedom of expression using new media during the global crisis.

 Azad said that 96% of those in the main survey sample (15 to 29 age group) and 65% of those in the Influential group category (40 to 68 age group) had admitted that they used the Internet, while 78.7% of those in the 15 to 29 age group had indicated that they used Internet daily.

Based on the findings of the research, it was proposed that the public should be educated on the range of new media platforms and be better equipped on how to understand and use those platforms, responsibly, and their rights when expressing themselves.

 As media literacy training, from early ages, could stimulate generational change, grassroots activists and community leaders should be educated on how to leverage new media technologies to foster positive societal change.

 It was also proposed that university curricula and those of media training institutes should include new media technologies in areas of study such as journalism, sociology and politics, especially in a Sri Lankan context to equip budding leaders with improved information flows.

 The research, a part of the ‘Incubator Spaces for Promoting Information Rights and Freedom of Expression (InSPIRE) project funded by the European Union and implemented by HELVETAS inter-cooperation gGmBH Sri Lanka  in partnership with SDJF was carried out by the Institute of Particpatory Interaction and Development (IPID) specifically focusing on new media used by the youth between the ages 15 to 29 and their parents (Influential Group between the age 40 to 68)  to obtain  their perception of new media usage and behaviour of their children as well as their own involvement in engaging in the new media. The research was conducted between July and December 2021.