Today the presence of social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) is felt by everyone in our lives. No sector or section of society has managed to remain unaffected by them. The revolution in communication technology in the last few years and the spread of mobile phones to the remotest corners of the world have made these things accessible to a vast number of people. Social media has changed the way people communicate with each other, it has modified the ways we interact with each other, and for the first time in history, we have written or recorded data for conversations of common people. All those tweets, FB posts, blog posts, comments, or chats are written records of our conversations with each other which never happened before in the history of our civilization. For the first time in our history, we are talking to each other so much by writing rather than speaking. In the past also people used to write long letters but the percentage of literacy was not that high in many places around the world and this mode of communication was limited for special reasons and occasions, but now we mostly chat with each other by recording our conversations in some form (SMS, FB, Twitter, Orkut or whatever). This is really unique, today we have the power to communicate anytime with anyone, anywhere in the world who has access to an internet-connected device. Anything we communicate today is recorded somewhere, stored somewhere, there is proof of what we express whether we know it or not doesn't matter, it's stored somewhere. We are generating a tremendous amount of data every day, that information is enormous and the speed with which we share our thoughts with each other is also phenomenal. One tweet, a blog post, or an FB post can reach millions all over the world in just a few seconds. This was not possible in the pre-social media era even in the presence of TV or radio. TV and radio also revolutionized our lives but that was mainly in the area of entertainment and news, but social media took the level of our communication with each other to a completely different level. We now live in a virtually well-connected world.
Politicians, celebrities, and even common people like you and me are using social media to communicate our thoughts to our friends and to people who don't know personally. We can share our thoughts more easily now, and many serious discussions can be done without meeting each other personally. Some political parties or organizations who ridiculed these things in the beginning as some temporary internet craze and didn't take these things seriously are also trying really hard to make their presence felt in this virtual world. Establishments and big corporates are using this medium as an efficient tool to attract new customers. Social media websites (like Facebook) are highly valued (worth a few billion USD) this is just because number of users associated with them. Nowadays many debates discussions and business transactions take place online, where actual debaters or buyers and sellers don't interact with each other directly or don't even know each other, but things work out smoothly. This is an amazing transformation of our society. Just a few decades back these things were considered impossible or can be seen only in fiction movies or books, but now it's reality and we all are living it, we all are part of it.
Social media and the internet have given us a parallel virtual world, which is very different from our real world. This virtual world is a place where two strangers can interact with each other at various levels of intimacy. Where relationships can be formed or broken, bonds can be developed, and almost every emotion can be shared privately or publicly, such is the power of this medium. Technically, one can spend their entire life interacting with people they will never know or will never see in their entire life personally. This was only possible in dreams or for very few people (like popular writers or actors who respond to fan mails) but now anyone can do this. This is a tremendous change that is already having a huge impact (positive as well as negative) on our personal and social lives. There are some similarities between the virtual and real world, like in a real-world in the virtual world also there are predators as well as saviors, people can transform each other lives positively or negatively, and they can torture and abuse. The only difference is that in the virtual world, they can do this anonymously without coming into physical contact with the victim, and this is the most dangerous aspect of this medium.
This technology has given us the ability to expand our horizons. We can be in touch with people who are physically far away from us, we can chat with them, and see them in real time. At the same time, some people indulge in this too much, they are so absorbed in this virtual world that they don't even realize that they are neglecting their real world, sometimes families suffer, and relationships break because of this. This medium is so powerful that's why its effects are also very powerful. It can even assist in creating mass movements against ruthless or corrupt establishments, and it can spread rumors faster than ever before. These are a few of the reasons why many governments are worried and concerned about the power of this medium and some of them are even thinking of censoring or controlling these things (like Facebook and Twitter). I guess they think if they can control this medium effectively they can have better control over their citizens, such is the impact of this medium.
This medium has also given us a unique platform and opportunity to create or invent new things. It was never easy to become a writer, storyteller, or inventor before as it is now. Now we have this very powerful tool in our hands and we are free to use it in whatever way we want. The choice is entirely ours, we can use it either to connect with friends and relatives, spread awareness, spread love, freedom, a message of equality, fight discrimination, or spread hate, fanaticism, inequality, and polarize society. The choice is all ours, the medium will work in a way we make it to work, so let's use it to bring positive change.
Politicians, celebrities, and even common people like you and me are using social media to communicate our thoughts to our friends and to people who don't know personally. We can share our thoughts more easily now, and many serious discussions can be done without meeting each other personally. Some political parties or organizations who ridiculed these things in the beginning as some temporary internet craze and didn't take these things seriously are also trying really hard to make their presence felt in this virtual world. Establishments and big corporates are using this medium as an efficient tool to attract new customers. Social media websites (like Facebook) are highly valued (worth a few billion USD) this is just because number of users associated with them. Nowadays many debates discussions and business transactions take place online, where actual debaters or buyers and sellers don't interact with each other directly or don't even know each other, but things work out smoothly. This is an amazing transformation of our society. Just a few decades back these things were considered impossible or can be seen only in fiction movies or books, but now it's reality and we all are living it, we all are part of it.
Social media and the internet have given us a parallel virtual world, which is very different from our real world. This virtual world is a place where two strangers can interact with each other at various levels of intimacy. Where relationships can be formed or broken, bonds can be developed, and almost every emotion can be shared privately or publicly, such is the power of this medium. Technically, one can spend their entire life interacting with people they will never know or will never see in their entire life personally. This was only possible in dreams or for very few people (like popular writers or actors who respond to fan mails) but now anyone can do this. This is a tremendous change that is already having a huge impact (positive as well as negative) on our personal and social lives. There are some similarities between the virtual and real world, like in a real-world in the virtual world also there are predators as well as saviors, people can transform each other lives positively or negatively, and they can torture and abuse. The only difference is that in the virtual world, they can do this anonymously without coming into physical contact with the victim, and this is the most dangerous aspect of this medium.
This technology has given us the ability to expand our horizons. We can be in touch with people who are physically far away from us, we can chat with them, and see them in real time. At the same time, some people indulge in this too much, they are so absorbed in this virtual world that they don't even realize that they are neglecting their real world, sometimes families suffer, and relationships break because of this. This medium is so powerful that's why its effects are also very powerful. It can even assist in creating mass movements against ruthless or corrupt establishments, and it can spread rumors faster than ever before. These are a few of the reasons why many governments are worried and concerned about the power of this medium and some of them are even thinking of censoring or controlling these things (like Facebook and Twitter). I guess they think if they can control this medium effectively they can have better control over their citizens, such is the impact of this medium.
This medium has also given us a unique platform and opportunity to create or invent new things. It was never easy to become a writer, storyteller, or inventor before as it is now. Now we have this very powerful tool in our hands and we are free to use it in whatever way we want. The choice is entirely ours, we can use it either to connect with friends and relatives, spread awareness, spread love, freedom, a message of equality, fight discrimination, or spread hate, fanaticism, inequality, and polarize society. The choice is all ours, the medium will work in a way we make it to work, so let's use it to bring positive change.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
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