Obama warns of social media dangers in interview with Prince Harry
LONDON: Former US president Barack Obama told Britain's Prince Harry he was concerned social media was "corroding civil discourse", in what he said was his first interview since leaving the White House, aired yesterday.
"One of the dangers of the Internet is that people can have entirely different realities," he told Prince Harry, who was guest editing BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases. Things are not as simple as they have been portrayed in whatever chatroom you have been in.
"The question has to do with how do we harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices, allows a diversity of views, but does not lead to a Balkanisation of society and allows ways of finding common ground."
The interview was recorded in Toronto, Canada, in September on the sidelines of the Invictus Games, the athletic tournament created by Prince Harry for wounded former soldiers.
Despite admitting concern over the future of the US, Mr Obama - who did not mention successor Donald Trump by name - said he felt a sense of "serenity" on leaving the White House.
"There was a sense that we had run a good race," he added.
On his new routine, Mr Obama said: "I wake up later, it is wonderful to be able to control your day."- AFP
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