Social media is a modern-world tool available in the hands of today’s youth, and they find solace in the sea of information found in it.
To connect or to disconnect from social media has been an intensely debated topic, especially among today’s parents and the youth. While a majority of the parents think that using social media is a waste of time and a major distraction, most youth believe that it is a useful tool since it provides a virtual medium for people to get connected with each other, engage in discussions, share information, etc. As a socially active youngster, I am of the opinion that one of the best advantages of social media is that it connects people at the click of a button, with the right source required by them at that particular point of time. This click makes life very easy and comfortable, especially for the teenagers who enter into a new phase of their lives, i.e. university life. These confused teens find solace in the sea of information found on social media.
To learn and unlearn by one’s own experience is a thing of the past, as with the improved network of social media, experiences of successes, as well as experiences of failures are available for guidance. To select a course or a college away from home takes tremendous courage, and that courage comes from the information and knowledge-base provided by social media. “Before taking admission in any college, I went through videos a million times. I saw all the fest coverages and everything. It helped me a lot in knowing what will come my way,” says Bhumi, a first-year student, pursuing B.A. (Honours) Philosophy at Daulat Ram College.
Apart from empowering the students with knowledge, social media also plays an important role in connecting people; more so in making an outstation student feel at home. With the virtual connect, social media enables them to speak and stay in touch with their loved ones back home, and at the same time helps them in making new friends. “Social media helped me to connect with my friends, and most importantly to bridge the distance between me and my family. Also, as a byproduct of its well-connected nature, it helped me to settle in a city with a sense of ease in the sense that I wasn’t only able to establish, but also maintain new contacts in the city,” opines Aditya Nath, an outstation first-year student from Jharkhand, pursuing B.A. Programme at St. Stephen’s College.
Getting the right type of accommodation is a very crucial thing for outstation students who do not manage to get into hostels, and with the advent of social media, students are easily able to find paying guest accomodations(PG) and flats to live in, with the ratings and experiences of seniors recorded on various networking sites. In the words of Avilokita, an outstation first-year student from Chattisgarh, pursuing B.A. Programme at St. Stephen’s College, “Social media, especially Facebook really helped me a lot to find a good PG with a good environment to live in, because being new to the city, it is very difficult to find a safe and secure place where a student can easily adjust.” Social media has also played an important role in increasing the availability of opportunities for students, since all information regarding clubs, orientations, fests, competitions, etc. are circulated on applications like Instagram and WhatsApp. At the same time, it is a saviour for students who take part in sports or extracurricular activities, since they can catch up on all that is taught in the classes they miss by getting notes and questions from their friends through networking apps.
Thus, to conclude in the words of the famous Greek physician Hippocrates, “Everything in excess is opposed to nature.” Truly, nothing in excess is good. Therefore, it is important that each one of us manages the time spent on social media efficiently and usefully, so as to harness the maximum benefits from this gainful resource.
Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives
Abhinandan Krishn Kaul
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