My journey on social media began over six years ago when I started making online content on Facebook.
Comedy is my passion but it also has helped me highlight the issues women face in our society on a regular basis. Gender stereotyping, body shaming and our natural inclination to put people down are some of the things that I try to raise awareness around, through my work.
I try my best to use my platform to educate people but sometimes I just want them to have a good time on a bad day, laughing their hearts out. I began with theatre and went on to making memes and videos on Facebook in 2014.
Those who know of me, also know that I am Pakistan’s first female social media entertainer as well as the first woman of my generation to pursue standup comedy in the country.
I have also founded and trained the country’s first all-female improv comedy troupe., The Khawatoons which has just completed its four years and is widely popular, especially in Karachi.
If it had not been for social media where I was able to display my talent to a wide variety of audience, perhaps I would have not been where I am today.
A platform is a must for an artist to make their content accessible to a large number of people. I believe that the power of social media (if used correctly) is more than sufficient to make people notice acknowledge your hard work.
There are a number of platforms/apps now a days that have been playing the role of facilitating budding performers. Long before these apps arrived I had been making similar videos that have gained their own following.
Nowadays, apps like TikTok are widely popular not only in Pakistan but around the world. Tiktok, for instance has helped content creators in making short videos easily that look attractive, thanks to the various effects that the app has to offer. I see such platforms as breeding ground for creative expression. Potentially. What PTA and those in positions of authority need to understand is that if these platforms get banned now, we will never learn how to become better
citizens and users of technology who can actually be held accountable. They will never learn to harness their creative side and will continue to abuse technology.
In the recent past, since the TikTok app was launched in Pakistan, there is immense talent that has come forward through this short-video making app.
The good thing about this app, which has more than 500 million followers around the world, is that it is not only for the privileged but for people from all socio-economic backgrounds. People who might not have had have access to such resources otherwise.
Do they not deserve a chance to showcase their talent? Much of the content from Pakistan on the app revolves around lip syncing over movie dialogues and songs.
This content is being viewed by people from all walks of life. More often than not, artists are afraid that they would eventually lose relevance which could lead to a decrease in views, along with earnings, pushing TikTokers to do something new and “unique.”
All in all, the need of the hour is to educate and empower people with clearly laid down rules that highlight what any user can or cannot do on any platform-with penalties for those who don’t follow the given guidelines.
Also, strong content moderation needs to be carried out with proper regulatory measures, especially if we are ever going to have creative content generation platforms being launched from within our own tech ecosystem.
