Ashok Sharma
Not long ago, people used to communicate with their relatives and friends living away from them, through letters.Then came telephone, computer and laptop followed by internet which led to the people using emails for communication with their relatives living at a distance.But gone are those times now.All these means of communication have lost their relevance in the modern times and have now been replaced by social networking sites such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter etc.which are ruling the world these days.Social Media has become synonymous with our life these days and social media sites have taken over our lives to such an extent that internet users spend more time with social media sites than all other sites. We just can’t imagine life without social networking sites.It is believed that about two third of Indians online spend time on social networking sites such as Facebook,Twitter,Whatsapp,YouTube etc.The flow of money and the availability of Smart Phones and i Phones in the market and online coupled with mobile internet,has led to a spurt in the use of social media.Social networking sites are gaining popularity with each passing day with the people, especially the youngsters who are always seen using one site or the other.
Social media has made people across the world close to eachother and materialised the concept of turning the whole world into a small family.It is because of the social sites such as facebook ,You Tube that millions of people across the world can share their experiences, photos,videos etc with eachother and that too without spending any money.Social media has made it possible for the likeminded people across the world to discuss different topics,issues,poblems etc. and thus ,widen their knowledge and outlook.Many Recruitment companies post their advertisements for recruiting new employees and recruit them after interacting with them on the social media.Social media has also played a key role in Indian Politics.There are millions of supporters of political leaders on facebook , twitter and other sites and no doubt social media played a significant role in influencing the general elections across the country.Various political parties too have launched online membership drive for enrolling people as members of their parties.Political leaders such as Our PM Narendera Modi, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, National Conference leader Omar Obdullah themselves are very active on social sites.Even Big B( Amitabh Bachan),Cricket legend,Sachin Tendulkar and other Bollywood stars are quite active on Social microblogging site, Twitter.The Prime Minister launched’ Narendra Modimobile App’ on June17,2015 to provide instant updates and an opportunity to receive messages and emails directly from him.Social Media is also extensively used by educational institutions ,especially in the advanced countries to promote school- parents communication.Recently, the Indian HRD Ministry has taken the innovative step of making the parents aware of the performance of their children studying in Kendriya Vidalayas in various tests. Social sites are extensively being used for marketing of theiir products by various companies.Social sites such as Whatsapp are used to communicate useful information to the friends and relatives. One can form a group of likeminded people or other members of the group easily and send useful information on matches, result of exams, employment Notifications,cirulars/ orders through messages in an instant manner.Social sites have also helped a lot in enhancing creativity in the people.Highly creative and amusing messages on politics, domestic relationships, awareness,current topics, religion, lifestyle, interpersonal relationships and other motivational and inspirational messages on different aspects of life, religion, philosphy, history, culture etc etc posted and exchanged on the social sites speak volume about the creative ability of man. Not only this,some entertaining and amusing messages such as jokes on husbands and wives, teachers and students, Banta and Santa etc entertain us a lot and add colour to our monotonous and mechanical life.Similarly heart touching messages on social issues such as ‘ Save the girl child’, ending gender bias, wastage of food in lavish parties and need for conservation of food to feed the poor,our duty to take care of our parents and elders,etc play an important role in stirring our conscience and awakening us from deep slumber to deal with these issues in an effective manner.Social media has also added a new dimension to human life in terms of wishes and greetings.People often start their day by sending eachother messages of good morning or namaskar with wonderful religious or other pictures and go to bed bidding goodnight with the picture of moon rising in the sky or bats leaving their perches for food or birds flocking together to their abodes or other messages on such themes.Thus, social media has become a part and parcel of our life.
But like any other invention or creation ,Social media has many good things about them and many bad, too.Social media has made our life mechanical and destroyed our emotions to a large extent.It has affected our personal life and made people self centred.It is not an uncommon sight to see people glued to their phones and unaware of and indifferent to what is going around them and who is talking to whom. Young childen spend most of their time on these sites and take little interest in games and sports with the result that their physical growth and holistic development remain underdeveloped.People are so addicted to these sites that they want to retreat back to their mobile phones.They are distracted from the real world and live in the unreal world far away from harsh realities of life.Even on important occassions such as birthdays, marriage anniversaries etc people just wish to say hi and hello through instant messages rather than doing some effort to visit them at home.Sometimes, inflammatory messages are sent through social networking sites which spread rumours and incite communal,religious and other passions.
Many a time,people in their overenthusism post derogatory comments about various players/ leaders leading to hatred among the people.of different countries/communities.If ID of the person using such sites is leaked, it may be misused and vulgar and obscene messages can be posted on behalf of the said persons.People using sites such as facebook try to make as many friends as they can and develop inferioity complex if the no of their friends is less than that of their friends.Sometimes vulgar and obscene messages are uploaded on such sites which lead to the defamation of the affected person.
In short, social media has killed the fun and enjoyable social interaction associted with games and sports, social functions.As is often said that nothing is good or bad in this world,it is the use which makes it so.Social sites can be used for the welfare and entertainment of people, they can also be used to flare up baser passions.However it can be said that if one can keep one’s life centred and use social sites as a small part of life and does not become addicted to them ,one should definitely use them.
(The writer is District President(Udhampur) of All J& K Plus 2 Lecturers Forum)
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