The impact of social media

 With time, some things or other keep changing gradually. Which is beyond our jurisdiction. The world is so vast that even if we want to, we can not control it, and controlling every single mind is somehow a challenge for us. From that very mind, technology was born, and that same technology gave birth to the mobile phone. Today, almost every family has a mobile, and leaving aside a few elderly members, everyone in the family knows at least a little bit about how to operate it. 

Everyone is gaining information through social media platforms like news, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Since everyone has a different capacity to think and understand, they follow things and watch content according to their own interests, there by shaping different opinions, and understandings, and decisions. If we talk about today's children, they do not need to learn anything from their elders except for practical experience, because technology has advanced so much that all facilities and conveniences are readily available to them right on technology itself.

After seeing the massive scale of technology in major cities like Delhi, Bangalore, I decided to observe its impact at the ground level. I traveled to the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and found that even here, people spend hours on social media. The number of elderly people using it was lower because they can not operate Android phones, yet they are not far from social media; they watch it either on their family's phones or a neighbors.

I spoke with countless people and gathered varied information. I met many individuals who connected with girls through Instagram and eventually got married, and today even have children. On the other hand, many lost their lives due to mobile phones because despite being married, they were caught engaging in illicit conversations with others.

People are adopting the lifestyle shown on social media, which has become a major cause for concern. To understand people's perspectives, I showed the exact same video to 30 different individuals and asked for their conclusions. Out of the 30, I received 21 completely different responses, and surprisingly, most of them perceived it negatively. Through this example, I want to highlight how people are forming widely different perceptions and opinions based on single specific reel or news piece. 

It is not that social media has only negative impacts; rather I am trying to show how people are shaping themselves based on what they see on social media. I do not want to write a controversial article but we all saw how Abhijit Deepke created the Cockroach Janata Party from America and connected crores of youth with it- to the extent that our education minister Dharmendra Pradhan Ji, even had to resign, and now it's happening regarding GYANESH KUMAR. In reality, however, there are all kinds of rumors on social media, and we don't actually know the ground reality. When someone speaks against a person on social media, some people end up developing a negative mindset towards them.

This reminds me of an ethical scenario. Imagine there are three people - A,B, and C - and a fourth person D. People A and C continuously feed negativity and flaws in to B's mind about D, saying D is like this or like that. Consequently, whenever B sees D, he turns his face away, believing D is a bad person because A and C filled his mind with malice. But one day, B thought, Let me actually to D. When he spoke to D, he realized that D is actually a very good person with such noble thoughts, and it was A and C who were toxic. This is exactly what social media users are doing. Technology itself is not bad; rather, the flaws lie with in us. The way we use it is exactly the kind of outcome we will get.

I am not saying that everyone spreads false rumors on social media, but there are many who do. When even educated people get conflicted by watching social media reels, it naturally impacts ordinary citizens much more. When I hear people in rural areas talking, I see them blindly trusting whatever is said on social media. Sometimes at tea stalls or samosa shops. I see people fighting, each trying desperately to prove their point right- arguing about what this or that politician is doing. Most of these people have hardly ever met these politicians, actors, or respected figures to actually understand their perspectives.

It takes some one a lifetime to build a respected image in society, yet on social media, a few people completely ruin that reputation with a 2 to 5 minute video. Consequently, that person is left conflicted about doing anything good for society any more. There are many such untold stories buried in our society.

Have you ever wondered? Every year, new candidates clear the UPSC exam and become IAS officers. Many of them dream of making a real difference, but the moment they become part of the system, they forget everything. Behind this lies the fear of seniors, politicians, powerful individuals and social media.

The Buddha said that whenever your eyes open, that is your dawn (it is never too late to wake up). However, in this scenario, that doesn't quite apply. Many IAS, IPS officers, and people people in respected positions have a past. Later in life, when their eyes open and they wish to do something good, they are threatened with their past. They are blackmailed with threats of making their past go viral on social media. That 2 to 5 minute viral video tears their conscience apart, forcing them to wipe out any thought of doing good from their minds. They eventually resign themselves to saying,' Lets thing go on as they are. I am not saying this happens to everyone, but yes, it is true that this happen.

My only point is: why do we judge and decide about someone else's life through social media without knowing their actual background? I have noticed that respected influential people now either withdraw behind closed walls or move abroad to places like Australia, Canada or other country where they can find privacy. Ultimately, this is our own loss. These are the people who could have created jobs and employment opportunities because they have the capital.