During the pandemic, parents around the world helped children log on to attend lessons online. After the pandemic, tech has increasingly been back in the firing line. Reuters
During the pandemic, parents around the world helped children log on to attend lessons online. After the pandemic, tech has increasingly been back in the firing line. Reuters
During the pandemic, parents around the world helped children log on to attend lessons online. After the pandemic, tech has increasingly been back in the firing line. Reuters
Wadha Al Nafjan is head of digital well-being at King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Saudi Arabia
March 07, 2024
I grew up in a tech-savvy family. My father was an avid gadget collector, and we children were encouraged to embrace the rapidly expanding digital world of the 1990s. As youngsters, my elder brother and I would disassemble video game consoles, fascinated by their inner workings. Unfortunately, we weren't always able to reassemble them. I learnt early on that digital technology is complicated, as is our evolving relationship with it.
The complex nature of society's relationship with digital technology has come to the forefront in recent years. There is a growing realisation that while tech is a powerful driver of human development, progress and positive social change, it also has a troubling shadow side – one we can't afford to ignore.
In 2019, after decades of research and debate, the World Health Organisation finally recognised "gaming disorder" within its official diagnostic system, classing it as a behavioural addiction. The same year, several pieces of tech-related legislation, notably the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (Smart) Act and the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, were presented to the US Senate. These proposed bills, that are still under consideration, aim to regulate social media platforms with the public interest and mental health in mind. In 2019, the Chinese government introduced a screen-time law prohibiting minors from gaming between 10pm and 8am.
This was all before Covid-19 hit. During the pandemic, tech was partially redeemed; it was at the heart of us "being together apart". Technology enabled society to keep going; education, business, and government services all continued to function to some extent. I was part of the team preparing the Saudi pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai at that time. Tech allowed us to continue working through the pandemic, and the show went on.
The Saudi Arabia pavilion at Expo 2020, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
However, after the pandemic, tech has increasingly been back in the firing line. Earlier this year, for example, executives from TikTok, Meta, Snap, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Discord were summoned to testify before the US Congress. The platforms in question have all been accused of facilitating child exploitation.
The trickle of tech criticism has become a torrent, with the term “techlash” increasingly used to describe the public's growing negative sentiment towards large technology companies. Much of this criticism is warranted, and some of the incidents behind the criticism are beyond tragic, such as the 2017 case of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old British schoolgirl who died during what a coroner called “an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content”.
Although much of this techlash is merited, some of it is also ill-founded, alarmist and unsubstantiated. For all its flaws and occasional gaping imperfections, digital technology makes lives easier and, in some instances, it saves lives. Unsurprisingly, there are calls to enshrine "access to the Internet" as a universal human right.
In this paradoxical (tech helps us, tech harms us) context, the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) launched its digital well-being programme, Sync. Committed to promoting digital well-being globally, Sync explores technology's positive and negative effects on physical, psychological and social health.
(L-R) Jason Citron, CEO of Discord, Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta are sworn-in as they testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, in Washington. Getty Images via AFP
To date, working with international partners, Sync has taken a pioneering role in raising awareness about this issue through initiatives such as the Digital Well-being Summit, an event previously hailed as the "Davos of digital well-being". The next summit is slated for May this year in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Launched last month on February 26, one of our most ambitious projects to date is the Global Digital Well-being Index. The first of its kind, the index allows us to look at country-level performance on digital well-being. It provides a constructive tool for anybody concerned about technology's impact on society.
Last year, we conducted an extensive digital well-being survey, spanning 35 nations and including 35,000 adult participants. The results provided valuable insights such as current attitudes towards generative AI, remote working, social media, gaming and more. The survey's findings, extensive policy analyses and numerous other data sources were all expertly combined to create our index.
The UAE is the highest-ranked Mena nation, and both Saudi Arabia and the UAE do exceptionally well on the capturing opportunities side of the index
The index was an international and multidisciplinary effort involving former index builders, economists, psychologists and data scientists. The result is a global compilation examining how well nations perform on a broad and inclusive definition of digital well-being.
Based on two complementary components, the index is a two-way street, looking at the extent to which nations capture the opportunities that the digital world provides while also exploring how well each nation manages or mitigates the negative effects of tech.
The capturing opportunities side includes a focus on things like levels of connectivity, the availability of digital education, and access to entertainment and culture. On the negative impact side, the focus is on the extent to which nations manage issues like problematic technology use, cyberbullying and online misinformation.
Canada, Australia and Singapore occupy the top three spots, performing best overall. The UAE is the highest-ranked Mena nation, and both Saudi Arabia and the UAE do exceptionally well on the capturing opportunities side of the index.
No country, however, has all the answers or faces all the challenges. The areas of excellence and the pain points are broadly distributed across the whole 35-country sample. For example, the Arab Gulf nations excel in connectivity, while the South-East Asian countries lead the way in digital education.
The main focus of the index isn't the rankings; it is to identify and share best practices, helping to drive broad progress across all nations. This tool can help decision-makers and those involved in policy development better protect and promote the digital well-being of the people they serve. It also establishes benchmarks against which targets can be set, and progress measured.
Several nations already have excellent initiatives; for example, Singapore's DQ Institute pioneered online child safety. Similarly, the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority has launched several excellent initiatives promoting the digital well-being of children and families. Optimising digital technology's opportunities while simultaneously promoting well-being requires collaborative international effort. Our Index is only the latest contribution to this critical mission.
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors Power: 639hp Torque: 1,130Nm Transmission: Single-speed automatic Touring range: 591km Price: From Dh412,500 On sale: Deliveries start in October
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples. Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts. Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Tips to keep your car cool
Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
Park in shaded or covered areas
Add tint to windows
Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
