Life on social media

SANDEEP SINHA

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The social media is in the news like never before. It’s been ages since the tweet by Shashi Tharoor that he would prefer to travel “cattle class in solidarity with all our holy cows” had annoyed the Congress.

Recently, a government doctor in West Bengal has been suspended for a Facebook post in which he expressed his helplessness in dealing with dengue cases.  In 2012, a Jadavpur University professor was suspended for forwarding cartoons of Mamata Banerjee through e-mails.

In another instance of the uses that the social media is proving to be of, a professor of the Aligarh Muslim University gave his wife talaq on WhatsApp and then through a text message.

The Punjab Police was left perplexed when a gangster admitted on Facebook of having killed a Hindu Sangharsh Sena leader. The police is trying to ascertain the origin of the message. In Faridkot Central Jail, a gangster went live on Facebook from the barrack, justifying stubble burning and the blackening of signboards that were not in Punjabi. 

Besides, terror modules are also known to use the social media to scout possible recruits. That is why one is advised to be careful before accepting friend requests from strangers. In fact, users are advised to confirm requests only if they know someone personally and even categorises them as friends, acquaintance or family member. 

Facebook, for instance, has options for controlling who can see your post along with the option of going live. So, while posting, one is aware of the reactions expected. Messages and calls made on WhatsApp are said to be encrypted.

Primarily, social media was meant to connect in a world where because of occupational mobility and growing distances, people found it hard to meet family and friends frequently. It was supposed to keep the link alive, keep each other aware of their whereabouts.

Because of its reach and immediacy, the social media is popular. Unlike TV and newspapers, where the user is passive, the user has an active role to play in the social media. It acts as a social equalizer by providing everyone a level playing platform.

Almost all major political parties and public personalities have a platform on the social media, using it to mould public opinion, push policies and advocate change. No wonder then, Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his angst, “Why would Kim Jong-un call me old when I never called him short and fat?” It was what the Amitabh Bachchan movie says, “Buddha Hoga Tera Baap.”

The advent of smart phones has taken the social media revolution further with people even in areas that do not have electricity or internet connection being able to log in. No wonder then gangsters have not been left untouched and are shrugging off anonymity for their sixty seconds of fame or infamy. Not for them the code words, sign languages and clandestine phone calls of yore, it is now all in the open.

While the use and abuse of social media may be a subject of debate with senior journalists like Rajdeep Sardesai saying it should not be allowed to set the agenda for the mainstream media, the comfort level of the people with the medium is quite evident with even the gangsters oblivious to the hazards of openness. After all, no one would dare to troll a gangster. And they are used to cops chasing them.

Social media, as a tool, increases efficiency and boosts productivity. It has become so relevant it borders on addiction. A WhatsApp joke was a pointer when it showed a doctor at a de-addiction centre asking a man what was he addicted to—liquor or drugs? His answer: WhatsApp.

So, just as fire is a good servant but a bad master, so is technology. And the social media is no exception. Keep it light, connect and debate, but subject to public order, health and morality. Liberty without restraint is fraught with grave consequences.

Cyber connection

Social media was meant to connect in a world where because of occupational mobility and growing distances, people found 

it hard to meet family and friends frequently. It was supposed to keep one abreast of the developments in the life of friends and family.

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