Even a decade and a half back for most, Social and Media use to imply 2 different entities. Social was something that related to society and media was a medium through which information was dispersed. But with the advent and proliferation of the internet and mobile technologies, Social Media has a new definition now. WTF. Watsapp, Twitter and Facebook has encompassed us from all sides and as is the case with virtually everything in life, they have had an effect which is "Great Good" as well as "Great Evil".
Social networking sites like Facebook have helped people get closer and stay in touch, destroying physical and geographical boundaries. Long lost friends have been united as have been families all across the world because of Facebook. For many, sites like Orkut and Facebook have been platforms through which they have been able to connect with people they love and "To Share is To Care" has gained completely new dimensions in the social media lingo.
Social Media is also instrumental in "Changes" beyond imagination. The genesis of the Arab Spring Revolution was in the Social Media. Millions of anonymous users of social networking sites united, initially virtually and then physically, to oust despotic regimes across countries like Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The social media gave a vent to the suppressed aspirations of billions of youth, depressed by large scale corruption of the ruling elite. Even in India, the Anna movement and the tragic Braveheart rape case of New Delhi showed us glimpses of the constructive power of this new media.
But social media has also brought forward some very disturbing developments. The same media which is hailed as a connector has become a catalyst in the breaking of actual old world emotional bonds. People living under the same roof, now brag about how much they love each other on the social network in a false display of public display of affection. Private life has become much too public and everything is gradually becoming artificial, with a view to garner more likes on the Social Media. Real people are spending more time on the virtual sphere neglecting more pressing things in hand like job, duty and most importantly family. The children are aping their parents and what we are increasingly finding today, are picture perfect families with little emotional bonds within them. A real irony. The urge to check periodically (could be within hours, minutes and sometimes even seconds) whether one has been liked online has become so immense that the likes and dislikes of the loved ones at home, has become secondary.
The ease with which a lie can be propagated as a truth on the social media is also a very upsetting trend. It has become a potent tool for the destruction of harmony amongst communities world wide. The Muzzafarnagar riots and the mass panic movement of the people of the North East India are the recent examples of the destructive power of the social media. Character assassinations are done with aplomb, day in and day out on social networking sites and the tragedy is that the gullible youth is easily targeted by religious zealots and corrupt politicians, who in their quest for ultimate nefarious objectives, find the social network a very handy ally.
Reading through Amish's Shiva trilogy, a fact of life kept on staring back at me, everything in this world is based on balance and if the balance is tilted in anyway, destruction awaits. So, too much good will always give rise to too much evil as Good and Evil always co-exist. It is for us to take a pick so that our evils are balanced out by our good.........
The Social Network is no doubt a wonderful tool and it is very difficult opting out of it, but we need to be aware of the evils that are lurking by; because today, The Social Media has indeed become a necessary evil!
Social networking sites like Facebook have helped people get closer and stay in touch, destroying physical and geographical boundaries. Long lost friends have been united as have been families all across the world because of Facebook. For many, sites like Orkut and Facebook have been platforms through which they have been able to connect with people they love and "To Share is To Care" has gained completely new dimensions in the social media lingo.
Social Media is also instrumental in "Changes" beyond imagination. The genesis of the Arab Spring Revolution was in the Social Media. Millions of anonymous users of social networking sites united, initially virtually and then physically, to oust despotic regimes across countries like Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The social media gave a vent to the suppressed aspirations of billions of youth, depressed by large scale corruption of the ruling elite. Even in India, the Anna movement and the tragic Braveheart rape case of New Delhi showed us glimpses of the constructive power of this new media.
But social media has also brought forward some very disturbing developments. The same media which is hailed as a connector has become a catalyst in the breaking of actual old world emotional bonds. People living under the same roof, now brag about how much they love each other on the social network in a false display of public display of affection. Private life has become much too public and everything is gradually becoming artificial, with a view to garner more likes on the Social Media. Real people are spending more time on the virtual sphere neglecting more pressing things in hand like job, duty and most importantly family. The children are aping their parents and what we are increasingly finding today, are picture perfect families with little emotional bonds within them. A real irony. The urge to check periodically (could be within hours, minutes and sometimes even seconds) whether one has been liked online has become so immense that the likes and dislikes of the loved ones at home, has become secondary.
The ease with which a lie can be propagated as a truth on the social media is also a very upsetting trend. It has become a potent tool for the destruction of harmony amongst communities world wide. The Muzzafarnagar riots and the mass panic movement of the people of the North East India are the recent examples of the destructive power of the social media. Character assassinations are done with aplomb, day in and day out on social networking sites and the tragedy is that the gullible youth is easily targeted by religious zealots and corrupt politicians, who in their quest for ultimate nefarious objectives, find the social network a very handy ally.
Reading through Amish's Shiva trilogy, a fact of life kept on staring back at me, everything in this world is based on balance and if the balance is tilted in anyway, destruction awaits. So, too much good will always give rise to too much evil as Good and Evil always co-exist. It is for us to take a pick so that our evils are balanced out by our good.........
The Social Network is no doubt a wonderful tool and it is very difficult opting out of it, but we need to be aware of the evils that are lurking by; because today, The Social Media has indeed become a necessary evil!
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