Today, people get addicted to various social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and WhatsApp. While these are means to stay connected with people, most of them use these sites so frequently that today they are addicted to them. After visiting any place whether in India or abroad, they click pictures on their mobile phones and post them on their Facebook wall and other networking sites. They type a message below the picture and wait for it to be liked or commented upon by their friends. The greater the number of people added onto their friends’ list, the more popular you are considered to be. It is a matter of pride for the account holder.
One expresses their views through their Twitter handle on various topics including politics. Even on Facebook, people post their opinion on anything and receive comments. They share articles from any newspaper, magazines, websites, etc. They post anything to everything for others to see, read, like or comment upon. In fact, they act as an important tool for influencing people. Perhaps that is why political parties use this medium as a tool to reach out to a maximum number of people and spread their message. Although we live in a democracy and enjoy freedom of speech, we still need to pay heed as to what we post on social networking sites. There have been examples wherein young girls and boys have been arrested for the comments they have posted on their timeline.
On a positive note, social networking sites can keep people updated about what is currently happening in the world today through their posts. They not only keep us updated of what is happening in the lives of people they haven’t spoken to, but they also help us to connect to strangers having similar views. Thus social networking sites if used carefully will enable us to stay away from boredom and keep us abreast with the incidents occurring in the world today.
Jubel D’Cruz
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
