Turn on self-monitoring camera

Abdullah Abdel Karim

(An Emirati writer)

“CCTV footage shows the murder of an elderly man.”

“CCTV footage shows an assault crime.”

“CCTV footage captures the moment of a plane crash.”

“CCTV footage reveals the ambiguity behind the murder of a rich woman.”

All these titles on Google Search Engine appeared immediately when I accidentally typed a wrong letter while searching for some information related to a certain topic on Google.

As I read some of these stories, I reflected on the importance of surveillance cameras in revealing the ambiguities behind crimes.

What if each of us has a self-monitoring camera that records impulses, behaviours and morals? Such a camera would mirror what is within us. It should be our tool to control our bad impulses and foster the values of nobility, love, perseverance, generosity, tolerance, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice.

People who can control of their attitudes own a high-quality self-camera as opposed to those who cannot. 

Even though the concept of self-control has been tackled in various studies, debate is still open on ethical standards that differ from one environment and culture from another. However, there are common morals that people everywhere agree on.

But can we develop more self-control on social media?

Definitely, social media has had a very deep impact on our lives. The world that we see on Facebook and other sites is not real and has the potential to distort our sense of self and sense of other people. Nowadays, many young people are infatuated with the trends cropping up almost daily on social media and they dream of setting a trend too, even if they have to compromise social and ethical principles. In their pursuit of this dream, they slip too far into the virtual world and lose a sense of real life, real self and real priorities.

When you turn on your selfie, you will get a self-image portraying the good and bad inside you. You can go through a process of self-control and self-development in the course of your life. You will definitely become  a role model in the real world – model that your offspring will respect and feel proud of.

If you alienate yourself from the daily temptations and observe your actions, you can truly become a trend in the life of your children.

Remember an arrow can only be fired by pulling it backwards, so when you feel that you are taking a step backwards, think positively, keep aiming and you will go further.