Social media has become one of the most emerging aspects of society. There are actually two versions of media which includes mainstream media and social media. Mainstream media comprises television, newspapers, radio whereas social media networking sites offer communication which is known as social media.
People of various age group consistently use social media for reading news, get to know about current affairs, to communicate with nears and peers, children use it to play games, etc. In the past era, people were bound to live by the information they learned from their parents and teachers.
But in today’s world of social media, they acquire versatile information and they know about different cultures in the world. Children often think beyond the inspiration, they took from their parents due to the emerging trend of social connectivity and search for different avenues in life.
Social media bears the power of divergent public opinion. People can express what they feel about government policies. They can criticize government policies without exactly disclosing their identity. In a democratic state like Pakistan, the United kingdom people feel free to talk about different perspectives of governance and let others know what they feel about the pros and cons of particular governing criteria.
People can raise the public perception about certain issues without visiting door to door. Surveys can also be done via social networking without spending much fiscal resources. Electronic media let us know about the main scenario and don’t usually allow general public to express their opinion, it’s just the power of social media that can set the course for electronic and print media altogether. As per famous maxim : “Vox populi, Vox Dei,” which means ‘voice of the people is the voice of God.’
Social media comes true to the spirits of democracy and that is through public opinion.
Social media alongside mainstream media has transformed our planet into a global village. People residing in different areas can communicate easily via social media websites like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and they remain cognizant of different cultures, the system of governance and public opinions at large.
The social media sites which are available in local languages are most accorded for communication, for example, localcircles.com is one of the most widely used sites in New Delhi, India because of its availability in the local language. People inform one another about water availability and other issues by using this site.
Sindh Cultural Day is celebrated on first Sunday of every December and it memories us of ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Those who never visited the area can simply know much more about Sindhi culture and its associated customs with the help of media. They can even share their celebrations regarding cultural and religious festivities by uploading pictures on Facebook, Instagram accounts. Social media has negated the border barriers between the states and people communicate without formal permissions from state circles.
For instance, India and Pakistan has been archrival since decades and there’s hardly seen any twin sided diplomacy and good relations between the two. Despite the border skirmishes every now and then, people are a big fan of each other’s cultural values, dress styling, and dishes, etc. People love to try each other’s recipes shared on Facebook or YouTube. Pakistani dresses are most widely appreciated and liked by the people on the other side of the border.
Social media keep us informed about the crisis and current affairs. It keep us in touch with the latest happenings In the world. Kashmir and Palestine are ever burning issues in world and people can know about the heights of atrocities committed against the people in these regions and many others and can express solidarity with the people of these areas with the power of social media networking.
People can know about the elections being held from time to time in different countries and changing political dynamics of the planet. Temperature variations and weather forecast can be checked with the help of different social media sites designed specifically for the purpose. People remains largely informed about the epidemic diseases and can collaborate joint efforts to curb a disease and its causative agents through social media.
We can know about the situation of war-torn areas like Yemen. The country is hit hard by humanitarian crisis and people there are fasting by day and starving by night due to food deficiencies. The food shortages are seen due to unavailability of people resource to work on farmland and lake of revenues due to distorted civil setup. Residents of Europe, Asia, Africa remains informed about such a crisis situation and can even lend a helping hand to the people in trouble through social media.
Mark Zuckerberg, who launched Facebook back in 2004, never knew of its widespread use and significance by then. He developed Facebook to enhance the connection between college friends and family members. The social media giant is now utilized worldwide and people from every walk of life use it to express and depict what they like to share. Social media is cost effective and charges far less than other connection options like mobile phone companies. Whatsapp can transfer huge data at very low costs and is instant and convenient equally well.
Social media is a source of information for students with different socio-economic backgrounds. Those who don’t have access to any standard library or costly books can get quality knowledge shared through Google and other social networking sites. The poor students with meager fiscal resources have easy access to educational syllabi and can enter the mainstream despite being the residents of backward areas.
Spying agencies don’t need to scroll many documentary proofs to know about someone’s identity. Information about people is widely available on social media websites. Even terrorists can be traced with the help of social networking sites. Intelligence agencies are no more in need to hire extra staff and to disburse fiscal resources to gather intelligence about people, government, or political parties and politicians.
Different people from time to time voluntarily share important information about financial scams and corruption of the ruling elite through social media sites without putting their own security at stake.
In a democratic state, people’s opinion matters the most and government circles can easily come across the public perception about policies and decisions taken by government circles through social media giants.
The famous quote by William J. Federer very clearly mesmerizes the importance of media: “The country is controlled by the laws, laws are controlled by the politicians, politicians are controlled by the vote, the vote is controlled by the public opinion and public opinion is controlled by the media.”
It is public opinion which makes governance pretty effective and more responsive to make the government of people, by the people a reality. Social media provides platforms for the indigents and elite equally well.
Besides several plus points associated with social media, it can put sensitive information at risk. Many important secret documents can be made public via social networking sites.
For example, Panama leaks and Wikileaks provided data about the secret properties made by politicians, business figures and even changed the political scenario in many countries including Pakistan. Several heads of the states were compelled to resign due to their names in the list of people with off-shore properties.
Books are considered as best and most loyal friends because they impart considerable information on multiple fronts. The book culture is widely disregarded due to availability of instant knowledge on internet. People don’t feel the necessity of scrolling books for their desire about particular subject matter. They simply search them on Google and other search engines and get latest information within no time.
Although social media is thought to strengthen the family relations by simply coming in frequent contacts through social media it is considered that social media has harmed the nuclear family bond. Brothers, sisters and other residents living in the same house looks busy in scrolling down the social media sites of their own will and don’t spend much time in family gatherings.
Despite the physical presence in the family, they look busy somewhere else. The power of social media can be greatly understood ever since the failure of the military coup in Turkey back in 2016. The military officials attempted a coup de’tact in the midnight time but social media video message spread by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan motivated the public at large and they come on streets to destroy the overtake of an existing government by a military regime.
Social media has given a boost to small businesses through Facebook and Google sites. It is unrealistic to spread small businesses through mainstream media outlets as it is costly and out of general budgetary constraints. Social media has exploded new vistas of online trade. People trade their goods across the borders with or without the banking transactions.
The cryptocurrency is used to do payment transfers which remains largely out of the reach of governance jurisdiction and tax redundant. People love to buy things online and this also reduces times to go for outdoor shopping. The standard and quality purchases can be done at doorstep without the expenses of transport fare.
Lo’real which is the beauty brand, hired about 15 social media influencers last year.
These social media personalities would have to share the video editorials about the beauty brand’s products. Amazon is trying to intercept the goods of people’s choice alongside Google which is trying to perceive the public opinion. Alibaba is a trade giant of China and informs about the goods that you search online.
Targeted harassment and hate content is an evil confronting social media outlets. People can spread hate content to others and remains largely out of the reach of law enforcers. This one thing causes much more concerns in government circles on how to combat such crimes. Cyber laws are made an obligation and are amended from time to time to ensure the safety of online information and to do away with hate content.
YouTube is a social media site and has made consistent endeavours to avoid the harassment, targeted harassment, hate content and disclosure of secret information. The reporting of such issues can be done by fewer clicks on YouTube.
Specialist doctors and general physicians can contact doctors residing in developed states and can seek assistance regarding sensitive medical examination of their patients. They can even seek assistance of specialists in the operation theatres to timely address complications. Nutritionists can guide their clients about particular feeding adaptations via social media.
The economy of the country can be improved by transforming the economic state of its people. The trade unions, uplifts in the exports via social networking sites can make the country a global economy. Social media has many positive perspectives and constraints and is now has become a necessary evil.
You Can Also Read: Coeducation; Merits, and Demerits
