(Dys) Functions of Social Media!
Make no mistake I am not a Luddite, who would argue not using social media and going back to pen and paper. However, the immense attraction of social media on the one hand and its abuse, misuse on the other, is a cause of concern. In TISS, a day long abstinence from social media was tried. The participants felt "detoxified". Let us try to understand this toxicity which is a part of our everyday life. It is beyond doubt that social media has helped to connect people in ways unthinkable. My contention is that it has outlived its purpose and now it is a site of toxicity. We see fake news, spams, so called viral videos, porn freely circulated on social media. In WhatsApp, we see "All Boys'" group, an avenue of hyper-masculinity, objectifying, degrading women. We witness trolls against celebrities. We see blatant rape threats to women expressing their opinion. The whole atmosphere is marred by toxicity, hatred, negativity. The worst part is we are 24*7 a part ...