Analysis /Opinion
The good and the bad of the social media
My sincere appreciation and love for the extraordinary quality towards the efforts of the bloggers and vloggers inspiring education and awareness. However, I have also unfortunately noticed unimaginably negative and derogatory or disrespectful comments towards other individuals in the social media platform too which ate absolutely not acceptable.
Saikat Kumar Basu
Social media is an extremely powerful and educational media that connects the entire planet as an information super way. I want to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation for the numerous video series and vlogs that are continuously posted non-stop across the social media platform. The relentless efforts in making the videos, vlogs and reals on numerous topics like politics, international relations, cultural and society, national heritage, religion, tourism, science and technology, ecology and environmental issues and related areas has made me speechless. My sincere appreciation and love for the extraordinary quality towards the efforts of the bloggers and vloggers inspiring education and awareness.
Numerous small individually operated and owned news channels have become a new trend on social media too. Some of these have very high quality content and immense potentiality. The large spectrum of reports posted on social media on multidisciplinary issues and their corresponding threats, consequences, impacts and significance on different communities populations across the planet is indeed awe inspiring. As an active audience (read netizen) it has been a great opportunity for me to know the unknown through the social media platforms. The various analytical discussions with so much intellectual crisscrossing and precise articulation of facts in various formal and informal debates among different groups or individuals on different issues has helped me a lot to evolve a crystal clear picture within the core of the heart.
The environment, agriculture, as well as science and technology related reports are extremely engaging in their content and presentations. They are very informative, providing information about the comparative pricing, cost effectiveness, sustainability, market distribution chains and profit ratios. Several training programs highlighted in the TV reports are well documented. However, one criticism is that one needs to present his/her thoughts at a slow pace, then it may be more beautiful and meaningful for listeners; and it helps a lot to increase the retention capacity of the audience. Most science related programs are excellent and have a highly sophisticated approach towards natural science and its neutrality as well as neutrality. The problems and possibilities of science are focused on intellectual and brilliance of the performance and presentation in the majority of the TV reports.
However, I have also unfortunately noticed unimaginably negative and derogatory or disrespectful comments towards other individuals in the social media platform too which ate absolutely not acceptable. There are unprecedented and unacceptable derogatory remarks made towards other religions, ordinary individuals, transgender and cross dressers and other members of the LGBTQ plus communities, against celebrities, politicians, religious leaders and even against simple personal likes and dislikes. This is not a platform for doing these things.
Timely intervention by the social media authorities on such inappropriate behavior traits are mostly not reported quite frequently. Our global geopolitical dynamics and its inhuman nature is also responsible for such misbehavior by a specific population of highly irresponsible and absolutely rude netizens. This is one of the most important and effective components to be taken into consideration by the responsible authorities while addressing the situation. So, the shadow of these predetermined absences by the regulatory authorities and their apparent apathy, negatively influenced the entire trolling mechanism functional on various social media platforms.
I sincerely don’t believe that everyone on the social media platform has solutions to every problem on this planet. So it is important for responsible netizens to refrain from making unacceptable comments on areas where an individual or a group or community have suitable expertise and experience. The group admins should continue to monitor their platform with proper surveillance mechanisms to prevent posting of continued misinformation and inappropriate comments, videos, posts or memes on the social media platform.
Let’s confine our discussions to mutual learning and education only. There’s no benefit in politicizing or bringing religion and hatred into every issue. There are already vested interests doing that. When the Supreme Court makes a statement, we should respect the judges’ expertise and accept it. They are professionals in their field. If we continuously disrespect and discredit every institution around the globe selectively, where will it end? We should honor the decisions of any apex court and should not cherry pick based on our personal likes or preferences. Otherwise, where will this selective approach lead us? The only way forward is through evidence-based research, not mere rhetoric. Let’s strive towards that goal.
Here are the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under which people can be penalized for spreading fake news on WhatsApp, such as Section 153A, Section 295A, Section 505, Section 499 and
Section 500. Please note that these are just a few sections that may apply, and there could be other sections depending on the specific circumstances of the case. Additionally, various provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, and its subsequent amendments, such as Section 66D (Punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resource) and Section 67 (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form), may also apply depending on the circumstances. This is only for information and also so that we are aware of what we are posting on these platforms. Let us use social media for our benefit and not for negative propaganda, trolling or humiliating others while hiding behind the obscure shield of free speech.
