Why Is Social Media A Boon Or Bane

Social Media: A boon or a bane

Malcolm X, the famous civil rights activist, once notably said, “The media is the most powerful entity on Earth.” To a large extent, his words hold true even today, as mass media virtually puts all the world’s information at the general populations’ fingertips. However, even in an age where life revolves around technology, some people hold the view that media (especially Social Media) is harmful to society. Accordingly, these people believe that traditional communication is a better way of knowing people, compared to today’s communication, which consists of live chats and video calls. Nevertheless, there are a plethora of advantages of using social media. These include sources of entertainment such as
In one of his ethnographic studies about Chennai (a city in India), Venkatraman reflects on the emergence of social media and mentions the then only way to access the Internet: Cyber Café. For example, if students had to work on a research project, they would visit the nearby Cyber Café. Although the usage of the Internet was gradually increasing, it was still a concern due to the limited availability of cyber cafes in a particular area. However, in the mid-2000s, an online platform named ‘Orkut’ became available in India (Venkatraman, 4). According to Shriram Venkatraman, ‘Orkut’ was one of the first social media platforms owned by Google, and with its increasing usage in daily life, people started enjoying the essence of social media. At the end of his review, Venkatraman proclaims his argument in front of everyone, hence, answering those who believed that social media has set people apart from each other. The message delivered by Venkatraman through his work states that it is not that people don’t meet, it is just that meeting people is accessible to a larger
“E-government is defined as the use of information and communication technologies to enhance access to government services and operations, benefiting all citizens of the society (Anupriya Khan, 1).” The major aspect involved in E-government is E- participation consisting of a multitude of benefits. Author Anupriya Khan stated, “E-participation’s sole purpose is to involve citizens in policy decision-making (1).” As a matter of fact, social media enable citizens to collaborate with the government in public affairs and seek solutions to persisting political and social issues. Another reason for this astounding rise in social media is due to its provision of several instrumental and persuasive services, such as election campaigns. Correspondingly, with the increasing popularity of social media, these campaigns are held across various social media platforms (Anupriya Khan, 3). These forums enable citizens to provide their advocacy, thereby making government more comprehensible. This framework will benefit social media and e-participation to develop for the rapid growth of government (Anupriya Khan, 4). It is this social media, which spreads awareness among individuals regarding the issues experienced by their countrymen and the innumerable ways to cope with