K K Bakshi
In today’s world social media aptitude seems to be an essential qualification for a man to make his presence felt. Anyone who betrays ignorance and nonchalance about significance of social media is hilariously dubbed as an educated moron. From kids to grown up adults, from educated to uneducated people-exposure to this media is seen as a necessary social evil. For youth, attraction to social media is like a moth to a flame. Life to them sans social media is listless and off color. Socialising in person or through electronic gizmos in today’s fast paced world is highly appreciated considering the fact that paucity of time is a syndrome everyone suffers from. Some users have begun exploiting various media platforms for enhancing their social clout and financial gains. YouTubers, in particular, have been swaying masses with their out of box ideas and presentations. As per a recent report there are 467 (four hundred sixty seven) million social media users in the country today, which equates to 32.8% of total 1.6 billion active mobile phones in India where 77 % mobile penetration has already been achieved as on today.
Currently there is a strong 2 million YouTubers partner programme creator base spawning over 40,000 channels with more than a lac followers per channel. Undoubtedly, social media is today turning out to be an unavoidable passion. A man cannot afford to go against the wind and if he fails to keep pace with the changing times, he could face covert ostracisation. Using social media cannot always be pernicious. Of late, it has transformed petty lives into celebrities and ordinary folks into high octane cult figures. Students preparing for multiple competitive examinations take the help of social media and other education channels to sharpen up their skills and perspicacity. Pharmaceutical world has turned the whole media industry into a money making machine. People from all over the world have hugely benefitted following the exchange of medical knowledge and expert consultations. Surgeries are being performed in on-line mode and a patient now has the luxury of consulting a doctor of his choice from any corner of the world. Business community is enjoying fruits of digital revolution that indirectly has exposed them to the brighter side of the social media. There is not a single commercial entity that has been left untouched by its gigantic presence as a result of which maximum business establishments have reconciled to the idea of using this media for widening the scope of their businesses.
Unemployed youth, well versed in graphics, digital exposition and computer based languages are pooling in all their resources to exploit the opportunities to earn a decent living thereof. However, despite all the positives, social media is fraught with some lurking dangers. It is fast turning out to be a major health hazard in the form of an uncontrollable addiction. Surveys across the board have found that 36.9% social media users have common health related problems. These have been identified as eye strain (36.4%), anger (25.5%) and sleep disorder (26.1%). People are oblivious of the fact that social media is gradually eating into the vitals of family system. Children are going wayward with arrogance and indiscipline creeping into their day-to-day life. Couples are losing both connect and courtship courtesy indiscriminate use of this hydra headed monster. Infidelity, profanity, nudity and immorality are rampant and causing fragmentation of the value system entrenched into our families. Some irresponsible and unsubstantiated media posts have recently triggered massive clashes between the communities. Videos blackmailing the victims for money and sex are being unabashedly uploaded day in and day out. Chats laced with expletives, invectives and insinuations make it to different media platforms freely-all this is the consequence of toxic addiction.
Society and parents have a pivotal role to play to curb this menace and if they shy away from taking up this responsibility then the whole society could be at the risk of disintegration. Helicopter-parenting is not the answer, rather sitting out with children and involving them into a heart-to-heart talk can throw up the answer to this conundrum. Any unwarranted restriction or laissez-faire attitude can boomerang and prove to be counterproductive. Proper counselling, regular consultations and meaningful engagements can reverse the trend to a great extent. Misuse of social media has to be immediately checked and all the remedial measures in the context of this gross abuse have to be put in place. Young people, in their own interest have to be encouraged to use this vibrant media judiciously. By maintaining legal, social and ethical standards, users can make great strides in the field in which they are past masters. Any misuse can jeopardise their future and even land them in cesspool of untold miseries and troubles. Let social media be a source of joy, earning and knowledge without making it look like the case of either addiction or passion. It is the collective responsibility of all concerned to ensure that social media is used the way it is meant and anything contrary to this could be cramping and catastrophic.
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