By Kartik Lokhande
Long
ago, someone had said that social media will strengthen democracy.
While one tends to believe this statement on the basis of positive
usages of social media platforms, one is also encouraged to think
otherwise because of caste-based usages of the same platforms. In true
sense, the platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook etc have turned into tools
to deepen the social divides in virtual world.
There was a time when
the media was controlled by ruling political class. Then, especially
during the British Raj, the freedom fighters in India used mainly the
print media to express their dissent. When there was no space for
expression of dissent in so-called mainstream media, they resorted to
starting secret publications devoted to the cause of struggle for
Independence. There were instances when radio or television media
working from foreign soil became useful platforms for Indian freedom
fighters, to make the world know their views. Since India earned her
Independence, situation has changed a lot. Gradually, business and
corporate houses started taking over media to wield power or to simply
run it as an enterprise. Infusion of money helped media evolve over the
years. Today, media is not restricted to print, television, or radio but
has expanded its reach to Internet, mobile phones, ‘social’ platforms
etc.
The evolution of media and emergence of social media has
brought with it lot many good things. Politicians and political parties,
corporates, bureaucrats, public figures, artists in the country have
become increasingly aware of the media power through good and bad
experiences. People have become sensitive about speaking before the
media. People have learnt how to employ people to maintain good ‘media
relations’. In fact, several wrongdoings have been exposed with
‘evidence’ through the use of cameras in mobile phone handsets. The fear
of adverse publicity has become a deterrent for those operating with
brazenness till a couple of decades ago.
However, sadly, the same
evolution of social media has got negative annotations too. Smarter
entities and persons have learnt how to ‘use’ media for their own
selfish gains, and against their rivals in respective fields. Morphing
of images and videos has ruined many lives, and have also put at stake
the credibility of media highlighting these. More visual media has
brought with it flood of pornographic content to the extent of
increasing perversion in the society. Inundation of public mind with too
much of information and views has actually left people confused about
truthful content with right intent. The lines between truth and fiction
are getting blurred increasingly. People who know how to pull commerce
levers of media become celebrities or powerful even without any other
merit. And, people who do not know how to ‘handle’ media, often find it
difficult to get even deserving space.
But, even more dangerous than
these things is that the so-called social media is being used
increasingly to extrapolate the social divides in to virtual world. For
instance, if there is a joke making mockery of a national figure to the
extent of insulting him/her; there is a reaction to it. Once a reaction
is posted, the user posting the joke interpretes it from caste or
religion or language or state or ideological or political point of view.
Then starts a slugfest of insulting each other’s caste or religion or
language or state or ideology or political entity. There have been some
instances when such ‘differences of opinion’ on social media led to some
real-life rioting or violent clashes.
In fact, there are groups or
communities on WhatsApp and Facebook and other social media that are
confined to bashing a caste, a religion, a State, or political party or
ideology. Often, such groups are found to be active not in propagating a
particular ideology but in spreading hatred. Often, content is
‘created’ to further venomous false propaganda. One can cite several
instances when such caste, religion, or other identity based usage of
social media has gone to the extent of insulting even the Constitutional
authorities, and in the process, the nation itself.
This actually
shows that technological advancements do not necessarily change the
mindsets. Rather, those with such sick mindsets use technology to widen
the existing social divides. It is surprising and shocking to see that
those claiming to champion the cause of working for annihilation of
caste or religious or political or ideological barriers, are using
social media to strengthen those barriers. Sadder is the fact that these
forces are vitiating the minds of youngsters, who form major chunk of
users on social media platforms. If young minds are vitiated, the seeds
of future unrest are sown.
It is time to think whether India, as an
internationally emerging nation, can afford sowing of the seeds of
social unrest through social media. Sane persons need to step in and
increase the presence of truthful and verified content.
Time is ripe
for the ‘revolution’ of telling truth. For, as George Orwell once
observed, “In a time of universal deceit-telling, the truth is a
revolutionary act.”
(21-06-15)
Comments
Post a Comment