Nowadays social media is in wide currency all over the world including Bangladesh. We often say that technology has made the world smaller, but social media has made the world even more small. The social media has become a place where we can connect with the rest of the world and get the latest news of current affairs as early as possible. The world has been afflicted with 'social networking' fever for the last several years. It has become a place for chatting, having fun, gossiping and passing leisure time.
Besides all these, there are several incidents of cheating on people, harassing one another and bluffing.
The popular social networking sites are Facebook, twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, My Space, Whatsapp etc. Statistics show, Facebook, the largest social media, reached 1.11 billion users in the world as of May 2, 2013 (Wikipedia). Since 2005, the number of adults using social media in the United States has risen from 8 per cent to 72 per cent, according to Forbes.com. Boost Mobile conducted a survey of 500 males and females between the ages of 16-25 years living in Australia. Almost half of the surveyed people admitted to being addicted to social media, and 68 per cent confessed checking their social media feed about 10 times a day. A Fox Business report found that Americans spend on an average 16 minutes every hour on social networking sites.
Bangladesh is ranked 18th in the world in terms of the number of the Facebook users. Nearly 14.4 million people of Bangladesh use Facebook which is 41.6 per cent of the internet users in Bangladesh (Wikipedia).
If we analyse the recent stories about social media, it will give us an insight into many positive aspects that can serve the society. We saw the people of Egypt making a movement at Tahrir Square against an autocrat with the help of social networking sites. And they succeeded in making him surrender. Bangladeshi people recently have made a historical movement at Shahbag demanding capital punishment of the war criminals of 1971. The movement was started by the Blogger and Online Activist Network (BOAN). After their hectic efforts, they made the people of the country support their cause. They reached most of the people through the internet and social networking sites. They wrote many blogs and different analyses to make the people conscious about their demands. Thousands of people had gathered at Shahbag demanding justice. It's really an enormous achievement of the social media.
Bangladesh now appears to be a heavenly place for social media. There are a lot of online news portals. These news portals offer us the latest news within the shortest possible time. There are many Facebook pages that work as news media. They often give us news from also far-away places with photos and videos. There are several online radio channels that entertain us. Very often we see discussions and debate on national or international issues that are happening on those blog sites, Facebook, and twitter as well. These are making people conscious about the current news and affairs. In addition, the social media has made it very easy, convenient and cost effective to raise awareness on the important issues happening all around the world.
Social networking sites, such as Facebook, are social communication tools of epic proportions allowing both social interaction and of commercial uses. Businessmen and women are using these sites to advertise and market their products and render services for their goods with ease. Social media has contributed immensely to the development of the e-commerce. It has also made the consumers easy and comfortable to choose necessary products from online.
These social networking sites have become a choosing ground for politicians. They are now using these sites to campaign for elections and finding it worth doing such campaigns. People are discussing political issues and criticising constructively through online. People are debating the ongoing issues of the country.
Although social networking sites serve as platforms where we can communicate with other people, make friends, share ideas, photos and get updated, it is very much addictive. Addiction to social networking is now a common phenomenon. Many young people are being addicted to these sites. They are wasting a lot of time surfing these sites. They are found clicking their Facebook, Twitter icons over and over as if the newsfeed is going to change and show something different within seconds. Often they use it in their classrooms; obviously it is a sign of a wrong-doing. Feelings of distress occur to a person if he or she is unable to gain access to the accounts. Another psychological fear has been diagnosed which is called 'nomophobia' or no-mobile-phone-phobia. It is the feeling people experience when their phones are left at home, or the battery dies or they are unable to access it. The fear causes a high level of stress.
Though these social networking sites offer networking opportunities, long-term problems remain hidden under a thick layer of status updates, comments and tweets. There are some people who use it to create violence and anarchy. Many miscreants are using these websites to cheat and harass people. Some people, having evil intentions, use it to spread rumours. We have seen many cases of harassing women, eve-teasing etc. through these social networking sites. Also privacy intrusions, identity theft and countless crimes have occurred due to Facebook exposure.
Thus, we can say that social media has changed our lives tremendously. If used correctly, some think, social media can offer huge benefits to us. But comparing both its positive and negative aspects, what would you say: social media is a blessing or a curse for the modern society?
The writer is a student of the Department of Economics, the University of Dhaka.
 sadiq.zafrullah@gmail.com
Social media: A blessing or a curse?
Sadiq Zafrullah | Published: December 06, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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