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
