iWorld
Gender discrimination apparent in comments on Pak artistes in Indian films, says Pak website
NEW DELHI: Even as several artistes from Pakistan are striking it rich in Bollywood, the social media in Pakistan is full of criticism about them.
Two recent entrants are Fawad Afzal Khan in Khoobsoorat and Humaima Mallick in Raja Natwarlal.
The response has been full of reproach. Some pages on Facebook also have abusive remarks from their own country fellows especially Humaima Mallick who is facing discontentment for recording bold scenes in her upcoming movie with Imran Hashmi.
The ‘horrendous condemnation’ on Humaima Mallick is reminder of Veena Malik’s social media trial from which she terribly failed to sustain, according to Pakistan’s MoreMag.
Interestingly, Fawad Khan has received some praise from Pakistanis as he was already popular in the country. He has got some successful dramas in his fleet like Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzaar hai, with the latter being telecast on Zee’s Zindagi channel.
Describing it as sad, MoreMag said the other reason may be gender discrimination.
When Humaima kisses Imran Hashmi, she has to face outrage and there is a lot of hue and cry for not preserving the dignity of Pakistani culture but when Fawad does the same with Sonam Kapoor, people enjoy it, the website points out, referring to these as ‘patriarchal behaviours’.
Imran Abbas with his charming and appealing looks also gained much popularity on social media especially with girls. With some of romantic scenes with Bipasha Basu, he definitely nailed it and therefore is enjoying healthy appreciation on social media. Some people also criticised him for being too bold.
Social media is already a terrifying place for celebrities from all around the globe, whether it is for Bieber or Kim Kardashian, says the report, adding they all have been thrashed badly by the people for no considerable reason.
‘Social media has become a place where people dispose of all their frustrations,’ the report concludes.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
