Social Media – The Dilemma of our Times

The onset of digitization has brought about a rapid shift in the world we live in, affecting everything from the way we consume content to the way we communicate and interact with each other. Even though it was a long time coming, recent events, including the pandemic have rapidly sped up the process. And at the core of this is the communication medium, social media. And there is no denying that it offers us great convenience and connectivity. The recent pandemic being a live example wherein social media not only brought people together and strengthened human connection but also played an important role to keep people motivated and positive during the tough times.

Be it to be able to carry on with business, have virtual classrooms for students, interact with family and friends, learn new skills and much more – social media has been a platform that brought the world closer. For me, it has been an important way to stay in touch with not just with my loved ones but also colleagues and peers to plan business continuity and employee safety. It has also been a great conduit for me to share my thoughts; especially in the form of my weekend musings.

However, as the saying goes that there are always two sides to a coin; it’s no different when it comes to social media. Just as it can bring people together for constructive reasons, it is capable of just the opposite as well. All the conversations around the recent Netflix documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ flared a nagging thought I had been wrestling with and forced me to reflect upon what social media brings to the table. Even though I am yet to watch it, it made me curious to know how you all deal with this double-edged sword called social media in your day-to-day lives. I thought why not hear it from you all directly and hence decided to conduct a poll, using my social media handles. I know it sounds ironical, using social media to run a poll about social media; but like I said before, it is what connects us in today’s world, overcoming distances, cultures and languages. And it was very interesting to see that more than half of you believe in a disciplined approach to when it comes to social media. I too believe that the way to optimally use social media is to monitor our usage.

Whether social media is ‘good’ or ‘bad’/’healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ is directly related to how it is used or abused. Key to enjoying the benefits while avoiding the problems is to use these powerful tools sensibly, constructively, and in moderation. We need to individually take responsibility to be conscious about the kind of content we interact with, create, and share along with the amount of time we spend with it. We need to stop trying to burden ourselves by comparing our lives as it appears on social media but instead use it to share, learn and inspire each other. Perhaps we can introduce discipline in our lives when it comes to using social platforms as we need to bear in mind that social media is not our life, but just a part of it, and should be accounted for accordingly.

Even as I write this, I do realize this is easier said than done. The good news is that technology itself is providing us with a way to minimize these problems. Innumerable apps and programs have developed that can help us monitor the amount of time spent on screens, various apps and social media. Digital platforms like twitter are now testing out ways to combat ‘fake’ news by displaying messages to verify the news before re-sharing and directing users to credible sources. In order to achieve positive progress, we need to nurture the development of technology and how we use it rather than attempting to constrain it.