Today social media has become one of the most important parts of our lives. Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and many more have change their image and availability in the past few years. Today its not only limited to just chatting or tweeting. Users have also changed.
In the beginning, we were just using social media for decorating our social image and to present our ‘self’ in a precise manner. But today we are using social media indiscriminately. We have made ourselves available on many websites, on various social media accounts, multiple email IDs , and numerous other online drives.
We indulge so heavily in the virtual world that it hampers our real world lives. What we are witnessing today is what I see as the fourth great techno-based revolution—where, across the world, everything is tend to be virtual. It is a techno based revolution where consumers are the only focus of business, for whom communication, entertainment and online availability is as more important as their lunch (sometimes even more). In this world of a techno-based revolution, being online is the sign of ‘development’ and ‘upgradation’.
When a single platform offers you enormous facilities, engaging millions of people in real time, there are risk and benefits attached to it by default. Today most of the people check their social media updates in the morning with lots of curiosities. When we get ‘Likes’ on our posts it increases our expectations for more and more. But its very surprising to know in 2002, when the ‘Like’ button was added to Facebook, it was not part of Mark Zukerberg’s plan. But today can we imagine Facebook without it? Social media has become the platform to share all kinds of realities and myths. It gives us a way to say anything about anybody. This highly benefits the politicians, as well as the revolutionaries, and at the same time it promotes stereotypes.
However social media is not responsible for the haphazard events happening around us; the mentality of the users is to blame. Keep on using social media but do not allow it to rule your mind and your life.
As the saying goes, lead a real life not the reel one.