Social media Boon or Bane

Social Media Boon or Bane

My daughter is addicted to her laptop.

My son is always busy with WhatsApp 

I have retired but I don't have any grouse because my friends contact me regularly through Whats App and Facebook. 

As a matter of fact, we regularly hear such comments in our day-to-day life. They clearly indicate how social networking sites or social media like Whats App, Face book, Twitter, Instagram, Orkut and YouTube have influenced our lives.

It is observed that 79% of people in America, Europe, Australia and advanced countries in Asia use social media liberally on a regular basis. The same trend has caught up in India now.

Although social media helps us establish contact with friends from all quarters, it has some prominent drawbacks too. 

Currently, school and college-going students, in their eagerness to establish contact with the world, tend to waste their valuable time surfing the internet at the expense of their studies. 

The above trend is really appalling because instead of indulging in academic pursuits, they squander precious time which should purely be devoted to education. If they don’t concentrate on their studies which will ultimately define their future, they will cut a sorry figure at a later stage. This is not a healthy trend.

Earlier, students used to study extensively burning the midnight oil in order to score high marks in their exams. Of late, they are mostly addicted to either laptops or smart phones - this adversely impacts their studies and they fail miserably in their exams.

Constantly browsing the internet for long hours makes them lazy and consequently they are physically and mentally weak and incapable of facing rigorous exams.

Prolonged exposure to social media has stifled development of valuable speaking and writing skills in children. These are prerequisites to acquire white-collar jobs, especially in multinational companies which look for people with immaculate speaking and writing skills apart from technical skills.

Of late, not only students, but also older men and women can be found glued to their smartphones during their travel or commute by bus, train and air. They hardly notice anything which is happening around them. This trend is socially not acceptable.

Nowadays, people hardly find time to directly interact or communicate with others. Direct communication has in fact taken a back seat. Familial bonds have started weakening. Everyone is confined to his or her private space and seldom talk to or think about others. This situation is really bad. and urgently needs remediation.

Notwithstanding all these shortcomings, social media has a positive side also. It is like a silver lining in the dark. It provides vital information related to health, food, sports, movies, politics, finance and several other issues which is really a boon to all concerned.

Social media helps foster friendship - although the communication is indirect, it is beneficial to one in their day-to-day affairs.

There are always two sides to a coin. Similarly, social media has pros and cons. What I suggest is that we wholeheartedly absorb and assimilate the merits of social media and dispense with its minuses so as to enable us to make positive and productive use of it and make this world a better place to live in.

In conclusion, I expect all to make proactive and judicious use of social media which, I am quite sure, will make a world of difference in your lives.

Thank you