Dimensions of Social Media

When we talk about the the dimensions of SOCIAL MEDIA, positive or negative, it may be necessary to talk first about the characteristics of Society, Community, Communication and the Media.

Society, as we all know, is people living together sharing the same spatial and social territory. Society creates an environment in which people interact in a language to communicate with each other. People in the societies create societal norms and social fabric and the Societies in turn develop patterns of behavior and establish cultures of their own. 

Community on the other hand is a social group of people essentially residing in the same area with a common interest as we see religious communities, caste communities, urban communities, rural communities and even gated-communities. Organisations do maintain relations with the communities around as part of corporate social responsibility. It is mainly for their existence in the Society. Therefore, Society is wider in concept and the community is generally confined to a geographic place or characteristic. But, the individual is central to both the Society and the Community. One influences the other and here the communication plays a major role.

Communication is one of the basic instincts of the people on par with hunger, thirst and sex i.e. an urge for procreation, but in this era of information, communication has become the primary need of a Society and its constituents in order to communicate and to carry on with the societal activities.

Media are the channels of information and means of communication. Mass communication media like newspapers, radio and television variously called as conventional media or traditional media or mainstream media has its own role to play. The basic functions of Media are not different from that of the functions of Communication as we see - to inform, to educate, to entertain and to influence. 

Social Media is the media of the people in the Society. With the advent of internet, digitization and artificial intelligence, various options are available to the people to communicate quickly. It is Citizen Journalism because individuals create the content and share it with others in the society using WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube etc applications and platforms. Social media usurped the role of mainstream media and is discharging more functions like surveillance, correlation, verification, validation, persuasion, mobilization, sensation  and diversion.  

Status of social media is that as of now, India has about 48 crore social media users, which is a one third of the country's population. The usage of WhatsApp is over 80% and Instagram 83%. Globally, 570 crore people use social media, which is about 64% of the global population. This is more than double the number of social media users in 2015, which was 207 crores. That is the penetration of Social Media into the global society. By this, we can imagine its influence. Information and communication technology has changed rapidly in the last 2 decades, with key developments in social media. Its access and reach became quite affordable and easy for use by citizens. Not only that, Social Media has become a distinct culture of communities in terms of connectivity and maintaining human relations. 

It is agreed that information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Therefore information is power. Without a means of distributing information, people cannot harness its power. One great use of social media is in the distribution of information in today’s world. Social media platforms have made it possible to access information at the click of a button. Social media is everywhere impacting the lives of people of all strata.

Positive Dimensions of social media are (1) Instant connectivity (2) quick access to Information (3) Education by knowledge exchange (4) Civic engagement for social awareness (5) Marketing of goods, services and ideas (6) Building communities (7) for Noble cause (8) for Mental health (9) for Emotional support (10) for Self-confidence and (11) Sense of purpose etc

Negative Dimensions are that it is (1) detrimental to mental health (2) can lead to unrealistic expectations (3) a platform for bullying and exclusion (4) addictive (5) can lead to decrease in privacy (6) a conduit of misinformation and disinformation (7) can cause distress, isolation or superficial relationships (8) polarization of people (9) can create envy (10) hamper emotional bonds (11) decrease face to face conversations (12) kill true sense of love, affection and fun (13) information distortion (14) communication overload (15) disrupt relationships in families (16) Fake news and (17) the most unwanted negative dimension of social media is that it can expose users to the content like violence and vulgarity that is not age appropriate. 

It can be said that, while the world would be a much slower place without social media, it has caused harm as well as good to society. The positive dimension of social media on the present day society is astronomical and far surpasses the negative impact associated with it. Legislations, Rules and Regulations may not be enough to enforce things in a Society. Human Wisdom alone can control and make use of every facet of technology for the welfare and happiness of the people at large.

Nota Bene: This is the gist of the talk of Y Babji, Editor, Public Relations Voice who Chaired a Plenary Session on the topic "positive & negative dimensions of social media" at the National Media Conference 2024 organised by the Media Wing (Rajayoga Education & Research Foundation) of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University at Mt Abu, Rajasthan from 26th to 30th September 2024 on the Theme "Spiritual empowerment for healthy and happy society - Role of Media."