The irony of the time


It is the age of social media and it is such a crispy tool that we no longer have to interact with people to know about them. People describe themselves in their social pages and they go on telling us what they like the most, what they dislike the most, how they spent their time during the weekend and so on. It is also something that goes on to tell us about the level of tolerance in the society, the vulnerable groups in the society, the topic which are the sensitivities of the masses, what masses okays and does not okay. It can be said that the political engagement of the people has increased but less so vividly and creatively; largely we are becoming the product of our diet of information and this is making us biased. People happen to form strong opinions about a subject matter and it has become easier to influence the opinion and thought process of the people, e.g. show them an extreme or a radical video (do make sure that the graphics of the video is appealing). If a person has not done his/her part of the research and has not been firm in his opinion in the sense that he/she is not having a firm base of knowledge in the concerned subject, it is likely that this will affect him/her.

It was reported that China is running Vietnamese war-time movies in the cinema halls to awake the feeling of nationalism in the times of trade war with the US. There were instances in the recent Indian election that a number of measures taken to influence the Indians, e.g. Namo TV, movies like The Accidental Prime Minister, several biopics, etc. However, social media also act as a check against the wrongdoers. It is like a weapon in the hands of the least marginalized to record and broadcast the abuse live, to the unchecked speeches.

Some quote that due to social media, the factor of the check is broken and almost everyone depending on their mood can write anything on their social posts. It is readable to the masses. It can become a source of nuisance irrespective of the status of the person posting it. The person just becomes the means of communication to propagate an ill thought idea. People keep on sharing the violent videos in their walls irrespective of the fact that it may further instigate the bad feeling. They do it for passing their grief and some may be to quench their hunger for likes.

In the end, it is up to the person reading the post, or watching a video to do it with a pinch of salt and an open mind. It is the need of the hour.


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