Social media demands carefully use
Vijay Garg
Technology has evolved a lot in the 21st century. The same development has had a huge impact on the Internet. Today Internet access is available not only on computers but also on mobile phones. Meanwhile, social media is used as a status symbol when needed.
Many websites have been created to increase the interaction between the people, which are called social sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Plus, Line and Viber and others. There are countless such sites and apps. One can open an account and connect with other users and share text messages, photos and video-audio clips with each other. In addition, many social networking sites offer free calls.
The purpose of social media is to provide information, entertainment and education but without the need for internet, excessive and misuse of internet proves to be bad for us and the trend of unnecessary use of social media among our youth is at its peak.
In schools, colleges and public places, about 90 per cent of the youth will be connected to social media on mobile. Most importantly, it is a waste of their precious time. Sometimes people even mislead each other by creating fake accounts.
For the last two decades there has been talk of computer addiction but now smartphones have infiltrated our daily lives without which we cannot escape. This technological advancement has given us a new addiction to the selfie culture. How many people have lost their precious lives while taking selfies in dangerous ways. This tendency is very fatal in the student body as it adversely affects the learning of the students.
In today’s world, news of an incident or accident spreads like wildfire through social media. Sometimes lies are spread to propel rumors and mislead the general public. Editing a photo, video or information is disguised as provocative, spreading false and inflammatory rumors about the death of a great personality or religion. There has been a huge increase in cyber crimes, which have a deadly effect on society.
Excessive use of social networking sites is not only addictive but also causes many health problems. Problems such as brain and ear tumors, heart disease, high blood pressure, migraines and obesity can occur.
Obesity further leads to diabetes. In addition to these dangers, mobile phones are also a major cause of accidents while driving. Children are suffering from mental problems like autism at an early age. Excessive use of social media has also severely damaged relationships and love in relationships. Family members live in the same house as strangers.
Newspapers carry such stories almost daily, in which many young people end up doing their own financial, sexual and mental harm. Most of them are girls. So before contacting anyone, it is important to know about them. Do not share personal details, photos and videos or anything related to a bank account with an unknown and untrustworthy person. By creating fake accounts, such people pretend to be foreigners or big businessmen and prey on housewives and even men.
Friendships on social media may not be as comfortable as they seem. There is no difficulty in befriending those you already know, but trust grows with a friend’s friend as the chain of friendship progresses. Sometimes the face that is visible, in fact that face and name and address are all fake. It can be difficult to know who is extending a hand of friendship for what purpose.
There are a few things to keep in mind when making friends on social media. If you are going to make friends with others or strangers, it is important to know them well first. Only then should any kind of information be exchanged. So check their social wall to see what kind of posts they share, what their background is, whether your interests match each other. After all, if it seems right, make friends, otherwise step back. Stranger friends need to be monitored later. Sometimes what is seen is not what it seems.
If social media is used to protect our environment from being polluted, to raise awareness against social evils and to highlight social problems, it can change the face of our society. There is a need to use social media wisely. It was designed to facilitate our interaction and not to harm each other. So use social media but with utmost caution and restraint.
Social media is also proving to be helpful in many tasks these days. This is a great way to get your point across to the community, provided we use it properly. Try to convey the correct information to the people and not just use it to mislead the youth.
(The author is a Retired Principal based in Malout Punjab)
KV Network
