Social media genie is out of the bottle, and we are all trapped

Source- The post is based on the article “Vikram Patel writes: Social media genie is out of the bottle, and we are all trapped” published in “The Indian Express” on 23rd May 2023.

Syllabus: GS1- Society. GS3- Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges

Relevance- Impacts of social media

News– The recent violence in Manipur is yet another example of the unravelling of the social fabric of our country.

How has social media contributed to increased polarisation in the world?

Smartphones have allowed a person to check into the online world at all times. Social media has drowned the person in a virtual world where ideas, lies and hate proliferate and get transmitted.

Our disagreements about ideas hardens our attitudes towards the other person or the groups. As the hate is reciprocated, the two sides move further apart. It leads to the heart of darkness when words escalate into actual violence.

Social media has desensitised us from its effects. Earlier, a common medium to express a critique was to write a letter. The process took time. A person could reflect on what they had written. It often leads to a moderation of language.

Besides, one never shared this letter with an unknown community of persons. Social media has not only contributed to the deterioration of public discourse.

Social media represents an existential threat to democracy. Democracy requires dialogue and respect to build consensus and compromise on contentious issues.

Social media has amplified the most unpleasant aspects of human personality. It is a tendency to be narcissistic. They think their opinions are the most important of all. They are sociopathic, and don’t care less about the feelings of others.

What is the way forward to limit the impacts of social media?

The human brain is wholly unprepared for the sudden and profound effects of social media.

The situation is about to get worse with the new age ushered by AI.

The world’s richest companies have done little to control the misuse of their technologies. Governments are not sure about their response to social media.

There is a need for a citizen-led solution.  There is a need to replace social media with social connectedness.

We should opt for a world in which we cherish our interactions with real people, read newspapers with views from all sides of the political spectrum and rebuild the social fabric of our society.