If I ask people about their most-used platform for daily news, majority of them are likely to speak of social media platforms. This is the reality of today. Due to the emergence of digitalization and an immense growth of technology, people of all age-groups are heavily relied on websites like Facebook and Twitter to get their daily dose of updates from all around the world. News channels are seen investing in mobile applications to keep up with the pace of technology and provide timely updates to the readers.
All of this is giving people a power. One, no longer, has to switch on their television set to become aware of the latest debates in the world, and nor do they have to wait around for the arrival of any newspapers. One can actively broadcast news and watch it unfold without any lapse of time.
So, all in all, traditional platforms and social media have become two powerful forces which are working towards a common goal of spreading awareness as efficiently as possible, despite the differences.
But, every power comes with a responsibility and its own set of pros and cons. As we already discussed the pros above, let us now look at some of the disadvantages posed by such a change.
“Half knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance”
This becomes significant in witnessing the relations between the users today and their news-reading habits. Through the help of status updates, shared posts and various 2-minute videos, we sure know what the latest news is all about and have a general idea or an overview of the specific situation; but do we really make an effort to know the whole story?
We know that Donald Trump is contesting in the US elections but do we even know anything about him? Do we understand why he’s being criticised by so many people? He said something about Muslims, right? But what did he say, why did he say so, and what is so wrong about it- do we ever question that?
Also, most of the times, when we come across a piece of news through the social media, we are so constantly involved in doing something else that we are likely to get distracted easily. There is also a fat chance of the article that you read, which is slowly forming your opinion, being factually incorrect because of its autonomy provided by the social media and a lack of stringent fact-checker.
So, somewhere, I believe, reading the headlines in our notification bars alone is creating a false sense of security among us. It sure helps us seem not-so-dumb in a social gathering because, “hey, at least I know there was some movie which was in news for being censored” but this is soon going to harm us in the longer run.
So, use the power, wisely. While the internet is a wonderful place with social media making everything accessible for everyone, do not run away from your own efforts. Read extensively from different authenticated platforms and then form an opinion. After all, knowledge is power, right?
Image credits: www.thehindubusinessline.com
Nishita Agarwal
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