One evening, as I was walking towards my college library while reading varied opinion-based articles on social media, one of my classmates called out to me and said: “Come out of social media, the real world is different”. Somehow I did follow her instructions- basically, I quit social media eventually.
Let me clarify that this event is not related to the incidents stated below. It was just an eye-opener.
Now that I’m off social media, what I actually feel is, that nowadays, in our society, a sense of responsibility is just around the corner. What I mean to say is that most of us so-called ‘civilized social beings’ indulge in a kind of dog-fight, every now and then.
Instead of drawing a conclusion through discussions, everyone is trying to defeat those whose views are contrary to their own. People are wasting their energy on blaming each other on useless issues. My observation is that while they are really smart at contradicting others, and prima facie, they are doing all this for the ‘welfare of society’, I believe, as soon as you dive into the details and look at the ground realities, you will find well-planned propaganda beneath their intentions, which is running to benefit a particular party or person.
The result of this mental warfare on social media has led us to the verge of destroying our personal relationships. Let’s take my example- I am someone one who prefers to keep silent on sensitive issues, like religion, caste etc., especially when I am in my friend circle. But sometimes, because these issues are so sensitive, I too get emotionally hurt.
For example; society prefers to call me an upper caste individual, although I am least bothered about it. Generally, I have observed that whenever I am with my batchmates, especially in a group, and there is a political discussion related to the RSS or BJP, ultimately what some of them do is to indirectly associate the misdoings of BJP and RSS with me. Because they believe that since I am from the upper caste, the BJP and RSS ideologies are inbuilt in me.
Wait! Wait! The interesting point that I want to mention here is that it seems it’s important to be aware of your friends’ caste status; this is something that was actually unknown to me in my school days. The question is, why is it important? I have found that it doesn’t seem to matter how much you try to connect with them. Sadly, you will be judged by the pre-conceived notions of caste and community which I believe are hammered into the minds of Indian youth through social media.
This happens regardless of which caste you belong to; you will feel it irrespective of whether you are from the so-called upper or lower caste. The kind of human being you are, seems to be a secondary consideration.
I have decided to end ties with such people, and will not try to maintain a balance, because I am not capable enough to deal with it. Everyone is diverse, that is fine, but everyone seems busy spreading hate on the basis of this diversity for some petty gains, and that’s not fine. At last, the end note to myself is – Use your brain, don’t follow the crowd running with orthodox vision.