By Rahul Bhandari, IAS
“The power of Social Media is such that, it forces necessary change”. Social Media is one of the hottest topics these days which is being heavily criticised on the family dining tables everyday. But we must also look at the other side of the coin, that is the positive outcome of social media and how it has proved to be a confidence booster for the common people, thereby strengthening the Indian Democracy.
Two Way Communication
Social Media is a two-way communication unlike the previous versions of media channels which only gave one sided point of view with minimal reach and reaction. ICUBE 2018 report that tracks digital adoption and usage trends in India, noted that the number of internet users in India has registered an annual growth of 18 percent and is estimated at 566 million as of December 2018, which is a 40 percent overall internet penetration. It projected a double digit growth for 2019 and estimated that the number of internet users will reach 627 million by the end of the year.
India consumes highest data
India is now one of the highest data consuming nations with mobile phones penetrating the remotest corners and at much low data pricing. This has led to a quick reaction within a short span of time reaching out to the capital though common people with regards to day to day national and international issues.
Its judicious use is good
It is the power of Social Media which has led “Kisan Chachi” (Rajkumari Devi) from the small town of Muzaffarpur, Bihar to achieve one of the highest honours conferred upon by the Indian Government- the Padma Shree Award- for her contribution in the field of agriculture. Thousands of poor labourers, most of whom worked in construction, transport and other low paying sectors were stuck in Arab Countries in 2016 and wanted to return home in. A single Tweet to the Foreign Minister then helped them in providing all the necessary support and brought them back to the country.
Accountability
Social Media has made the government more accountable. Now, it leads to public scrutiny in general and social audit in particular for every project and every action. The level of corruption (as shown by various government agencies) is declining and one of the contributors of this cause is social media.
It is due to this widespread reach of Social media that a humongous step of “Demonetisation” with such a massive impact could be implemented in such a small span of notice period. Various Social movements like #MeTooMovement which encouraged women to bring any past harassment under the limelight and hold the responsible people accountable, started from twitter and reached millions within days.
Helps Governance
Social media helped in contributing to the success of various projects and dissemination of information to the masses, for instance in the Swacch Bharat Mission, National health mission, Right to information, Right to Education etc. The Election commission of India has used social media for making people aware of their rights and raise importance towards their power of voting. Our Prime Minister in his “Mann Ki Baat” utilises the power of social media highlighting the various issues and attracting millions to the radios, thereby leading a direct contact between common people and the highest authority of the nation.
Due to the user-friendly features of social media, the youth is one of its most dominant users. Majority of Indian population comprising of the youth is active on social media, and this makes us wonder if something so powerful and with such a massive reach can be all good. However, at the present moment, we may just say that it is up to its utilization which can decide its final outcome.