Bhavya Banerjee, Author at DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Outrage over the New Snapchat Update

By Bhavya Banerjee February 19, 2018

Snapchat was launched in 2011 and quickly became the world’s favourite app-based social media platform to share multiple 10-second snippets (initially) of their day. Here is a look at why the app’s recent update might be its downfall.

Upon its launch, Snapchat took the world by storm and went viral. It gained popularity because of its unique concept of sharing timed-pictures with small captions, never before seen filters, and gave its users an avenue to be goofy, silly, and experiment with various photography styles. The smart phone based application soon became the premier place to share “stories” in terms of photos and videos. In fact, the app became so popular that other social media networks, like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp inculcated stories into their own layouts in the later years. Snapchat became an way not only for the general public, but for celebrities, social media influencers, companies, and media outlets like BuzzFeed etc. to promote their business ventures as the app provided them with access to over 150 million global users on a daily basis.

Earlier this month, Snapchat announced a new update which aimed to separate content uploaded by the “media” and “friends”. The update immediately received an enormous amount of backlash from users. So much so that over 800,000 people signed a petition to bring the old layout back. Research statistics displayed that the new update pushed most of its users over to its competition, Instagram, and that 80% of the numerous tweets about the update were negative.

The latest redesign that introduced an array of interface changes to the application is terribly designed and extremely confusing. These changes do not seem to be user friendly since many muscle memory movements, such as swiping left to view stories were removed. The stories from “friends” are now included to the left of the camera and the content from the media is kept to the right. The stories are no longer in a chronological order, but are showed to its users based on a “best friend algorithm”.

This update might be the downfall of one of the most-loved social media websites since the organisation sprung these changes onto users without any explanations or warnings. The only semblance of communication from the spokesperson of the company the public has received even after the severe criticism it faced, in terms of a public statement was “Updates as big as this one can take a little getting used to, but we hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in.”

Feature Image Credits: Daily Times

Bhavya Banerjee
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Campus Central

Behind the Scenes of DU Beat

By Bhavya Banerjee February 18, 2018

There is a lot of misconception about how DU Beat functions. To commemorate our 10^th year, here is a look at all that goes into being the University of Delhi’s (DU) most loved newspaper.

DU Beat (DUB) was founded in the month of October in 2007. The year 2018 commemorates the celebration of the 10 years DU Beat has served the students and faculty of University of Delhi by addressing student’s issues, reporting legitimate news, and expressing views regarding the University. DUB can be referred to as the first rough draft of the history of Delhi University, as journalism is often called the first rough draft of history. For the past ten years, DU Beat has provided an effective and ever-growing platform to over 250,000 individuals via our online platforms spread across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. We have also marked our presence in 17 DU colleges offline through our weekly printed newspaper.

Even though DU Beat is the first independent student newspaper of Delhi University, the progression of how it functions is quite ambiguous. Here is a look at all the departments of DUB that work day and night to be deserving of the most loved and largest student media platform in India.

The most common conception of the average student is that DUB comprises of a team of Editors, Correspondents, and Photographers. While these three are the most highlighted and represented departments through our work, the Marketing, Human Resources (HR) fuel DU Beat’s engine.

Marketing Department

The Marketing Department functions mostly out of editorial bounds, which is why they are the most unnoticed departments of DU Beat, despite being the most central to the functioning of DU Beat. It is because of them that printing of our weekly newspaper is possible, which reaches an audience of 30,000 yearly. The team represents DU Beat to the market. With their help, our first on-ground event, Mushaira, which was held at Hindu college and hosted a plethora of notable personalities, like Shashi Tharoor was made possible.

Human Resources Department (HR)

The Human Resources Department of DU Beat ensures the sustainability of the organisation as they are responsible for the recruitment process. The department ensures that the organization’s morale remains boosted. In addition to this, they ensure the smooth functioning of DUB, in terms of coordinating with fests and making sure all the internal departments of DUB are coordinating with each other and working as efficiently as they can.

Design Department

The design team of DU Beat is full of talented and creative individuals that help create the visual layout of both our social media platforms as well as the printed newspaper. The team works tirelessly to ensure that the layout of the newspaper is appealing. They improve the quality of the work that is put upon our platforms in terms pictorial representation. DUB owes its aesthetics to its design team.

Feature Image Credits: Sayanee Mandal for DU Beat

Bhavya Banerjee

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Arts & Culture

Growing Success of Social Media Influencers in India

By Bhavya Banerjee February 13, 2018

We live in a society where communication is continuously driven by social media websites. Here is a look at how social media has helped many influencers break the barriers of pursuing traditional and conventional paths to follow their passion.

The advent of globalisation in the world paved the way for a manifold of inventions that contributed both positively and negatively to our society. One of the most popular things to materialise out of it was the inception of social media. Social media began as a form of virtual communication created on a computer-mediated technology that would allow it’s users to share ideas, interests, etc. However, over the years the ambit of social media has increased exponentially and it has taken the world by storm.

Social media has evolved to such an extent that it has allowed a few individuals to gain a certain amount of credibility on the various platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Influencers in social media are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular topic like comedy, beauty, lifestyle, gaming, etc. They make regular posts about that subject matter on their preferred social media channels and generate a large following of enthusiastic and engaged people who pay close attention to their content. Due to the websites being open to advertisements, the influence that was accumulated by these influencers started to result in monetary benefits. People soon started to recognise the power of social media as a great contributor to the economy and a lot of individuals made their work on these websites their full-time jobs. Many influencers from western countries like Troye Sivan, Liza Koshy, and Lily Singh transitioned into working for big brands like Beats, Pantene, Vogue and landed roles in the mainstream Hollywood industry.

Although India was late to catch on to the trend, social media influencers in India have now gained prominence and etched their mark in this industry. Despite the perception of the society when it comes to social media, the following influencers have become highly successful:

Biswa Kalyan Rath
Biswa is an Indian stand-up comedian and Youtuber who gained eminence through a YouTube-based comedy series called Pretentious Movie Reviews which received millions of views and went extremely viral. The witty remarks and his awkward personality charmed the audience. Biswa now goes on national sold-out tours as a stand-up comedian and has also written his own Amazon Prime Original Series named Laakhon Mein Ek.

Kanan Gill
Kanan’s road to fame can also be credited to the YouTube comedy series Pretentious Movie Reviews, in which he collaborated with Biswa. After gaining a significant following Kanan Gill has landed roles in mainstream Bollywood movies and national commercials.

All India Bakchod (AIB)
AIB is an Indian comedy sketch group which was founded by Gursimram Khamba, Tanmay Bhatt, Rohan Joshi, and Ashish Shakya. Their high production comedy sketches go viral on YouTube. Due to their popularity, big actors like Alia Bhatt, Kangana Ranaut, Irrfan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor have starred in their videos. They have also written scripts for many award shows.

Carry Minati
Ajay Nagar is one of the most famous gaming YouTubers in India. His funny parodies of recent pop culture trends have helped him amass over 2.3 million subscribers on YouTube at the young age of 18 years.

BB Ki Vines
Bhuvan Bam is one of the most trending Indian YouTubers. His display of numerous hilarious characters in a series of short videos has helped him gain over 5 million subscribers. Bhuvan has also gone on to release multiple songs.

Shreya Jain
Shreya Jain is one of the very few females who can be known as an Indian Beauty Guru. She is currently pursuing a language course in Urdu from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi. She has worked with many domestic and international cosmetic brands like Nykaa, Maybelline, P.A.C Cosmetics, and several Korean beauty companies. Her channel includes a variety of makeup tutorials and DIY videos.

Sejal Kumar
Sejal Kumar, a Shri Ram College of Commerce alumni, is a lifestyle YouTuber and fashion blogger who is famous for her vlog-style fashion videos and beautifully put together travel video montages. She has recently started uploading song covers on her channel.

That Boho Girl- Kritika Khurana
Kritika Khurana, or more popularly known as That Boho Girl, is a household name when it comes to fashion blogging. Her online blog, which is called Thatbohogirl, gained immense popularity as she essentially transitioned to Instagram and Youtube where she posts extremely aesthetically pleasing pictures and videos on fashion and styling.

Feature Image Credits: Daily Social

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DUB Speak

Importance of Summer Internships in a College Student’s Life

By Bhavya Banerjee February 10, 2018

An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organisation for a limited period of time. Here is a look into why internships can prove to be one of the most critical tools to succeed in a college student’s life.

When you take admission into universities that are considered to be the best in the country like the University of Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Hotel Management, etc, you are grouped into a classroom full of students with more or less the same or comparable academic calibre as you. It is extremely easy to stand out during school days since most of the focus is given to academics. However, it is a completely different story when it comes to higher educational institutions.

When you enter the realm of the college education, you get a reality check in terms of your capabilities and how sustainable they are when you compare them to your peers. The social scenario completely shifts and you soon realise that only focussing on academics (though, it is an extremely imperative priority) will not cut it. Companies nowadays are looking for and give preference to work experience. Recruiters from big corporations pay more attention to your Curriculum Vitae (CV) instead of your academic transcripts and ask more skill based practical questions instead of syllabus oriented theoretical ones. Even higher educational institutions abroad that offer Master’s courses heavily weigh in your extracurricular activities when it comes to taking students into their universities.

One of the most effective ways to catch the eye of your desired Master’s college and/or your dream company you have wanted to work for is through doing summer internships during your summer vacations while completing your bachelor’s degree. Summer holidays are one of the best times to be productive and positively add to your CV’s, rather than lounging around in your room’s binge-watching TV shows on Netflix.

Summer internships are not only a great addition to the CV, but they allow you to gain hands-on experience and let you get your feet wet in a field you might be considering to pursue after the completion of your academic endeavours. Internships are a proven way to earn valuable knowledge and acquire the feel of working in an actual office, which most certainly cannot be taught in a classroom. Employers in status quo rely heavily on a good resume that displays a relevant work history. Partaking in an internship allows you to establish a series of networks and connections in your desired field of work that might prove to be extremely beneficial for you in the future. Despite these benefits, doing summer internships can and does also lead to personal growth and development in terms of pushing yourself in an official and professional environment, chasing deadlines, and managing your time effectively.

There are many online websites that compile a list of internships based on your interests like Internshala, HelloIntern, Letsintern etc through which you can apply for multiple companies offering long term, short term, and work from home internships. Another way to get hired as an intern is to connect with companies and offices via e-mail by sending your CV and expressing your interests to join their offices as an intern.
A practical work background carries a major significance when attempting to enter the job market or a higher educational institution. It’s all about competition!
Feature Image Credits: Study Abroad & Education Dynamics
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DUB Speak

How Troye Sivan is Breaking Barriers

By Bhavya Banerjee January 21, 2018

In our society, there is a stigma that surrounds social media influencers. Mainstream media today continues to discredit them for their talents and treat them insignificantly because of the unconventional way they achieve fame. Their success is reduced to an attribute to mere luck. The society always puts them a rank below conventional pop artists and actors. Troye Sivan is one such social media influencer who broke the glass ceiling and successfully transitioned into the music industry as a pop artist.

Troye Sivan has accumulated the type of success that every YouTuber dreams of. He started his journey through his YouTube channel in 2007. His mixture of comedy vlogs and song covers, as well as a few original parody songs, caught the attention of many as he currently has over 4 million subscribers on his main channel and over 2 million on his official music channel with Vevo.

Troye released his first album called “Blue Neighborhood” in the month of December in 2015. It soon became a hit and was noticed by pop icons like Taylor Swift and Lorde. He was even nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards (VMA’s) for his debut album and won the “Best Song of the Year” award at the 2016 ARIA Music Awards.

Despite his tremendous success in music, Troye is also breaking barriers in terms of being an icon and inspiration for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ (LGBTQ+) Community. One of the most viewed videos on his YouTube channel is his “Coming Out” video in which he openly declares that he identifies as gay. His Blue Neighborhood trilogy reflects the hardships that are faced by the members of the LGBTQ+ community and he has even helped his fans come out at his concert to their parents.

His success is not only limited to music. Troye Sivan was recently named the face of Valentino’s Men Spring-Summer 2018 collection and has also starred in multiple films like the X-Men series.

His transition from being a social media influencer to the mainstream music industry was certainly not an easy one. However, his work ethic and talent is what outshone the stigma that surrounds social media influencers and helped him have an immensely flourishing debut. He is not active on YouTube anymore and posts very rarely however he interacts with his fans regularly on other social media websites like Twitter and Instagram. He recently released two singles from his upcoming album called “My My My” and “The Good Side” and got the opportunity to perform at Saturday Night Live (SNL) as their musical guest.

Feature Image Credits: Coup De Main Magazine

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DUB Speak

Tips to Keep Your PG Room Clutter-Free

By Bhavya Banerjee January 20, 2018

With great academic workload comes a great number of things a college student needs to facilitate his/her daily functioning. Over the years, the accumulation of things can create quite a chaotic situation in your PG/hostel room!

Every room that hosts a college student has a surfeit of a disorganised pile of anything and everything ranging from clothes to kitchen utensils. Reading material, photocopies, books, clothes, accessories, basic hygiene commodities, beauty products, and stationery items — the list goes on. Stowing away this manifold collection of items every college student living in a PG or hostel has which is strewn all over the room is no child’s play! Here are a few tips to make the job easy and to prevent your room from getting messy:

1. Plastic Boxes

Plastic boxes are probably the simplest and cheapest hack when it comes to organising anything. They are easily available at craft stores for a very reasonable cost and can help you organise your reading materials that you have gathered over the course of your academic careers perfectly. Put all your readings/photocopies/books/notes of one subject into one box and simply label it by writing the name of the subject on a piece of paper and taping it on to the box. Once you do this, you won’t have to open all the boxes to find a reading from a particular subject. Plastic boxes do not take up much space since they can easily stack on top of each other, hence making them extremely space efficient!

2. Tupperware for accessory storage

The next time you bring food from your hometown back to your PG or hostel, don’t let that extra space go to waste after the food is all consumed. Merely wash the Tupperware bowls and containers and use them as a sturdy holder for all your intricate accessory pieces! Due to the brawny nature of the Tupperware containers, your jewellery will be safer than storing it in a random drawer where it can be prone to breakage and damage because of its flimsy build.

3. Add a drape

A quick and effortless way to instantly make your room feel and look cleaner is to add a decorative drape or curtain over that messy open shelf that is impossible to maintain no matter how many times you arrange and organise it. Many psychological studies have stated that people tend to be most at ease and at peace when there is no clutter around them. This trick will help you hide the clutter away from the naked eye. You can even jazz up a plain old curtain that you’re using to hide the mess by adding fairy lights to it!

Feature Image Credits: Twenty19

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DUB Speak

The Benefits and Importance of Extracurricular Activities in Delhi University

By Bhavya Banerjee January 10, 2018

The University of Delhi experience includes not just academics, but extracurricular activities as well. Involving yourself in the right societies can help you follow your passions, form friendships, learn new skills, and build imperative networks professionally.

A college student’s participation in extracurricular activities (ECA) acts as an integral role in a student’s life and significantly adds to the collegiate experience. Students become occupied in supplementary activities not only for entertainment, social, and gratification purposes but most importantly to gain and advance their skills.

There’s more to the college experience than just the classroom. From strengthening the brain to promoting more efficient time management skills, extracurricular activities help students thrive in much more than just their academic accomplishments. Extracurricular activities permit you to get a hands-on understanding in the field you will be working in, make associations with diverse people, advance your social skills, and it can really aid you in polishing your work ethic.

The University of Delhi provides a wide range of extra-curricular activities for its students. Each college has its own societies, which competes with the societies of other colleges and universities, time and again, across the various academic sessions, especially during the fest season. These activities exist to balance the university’s academic programme of study and augment the student’s educational experience. ECA teaches you the vital practical skills that you can apply when you enter the professional realm. The certificates and the enhancement of your CV through ECA assist you in preparing for the dynamism that follows you after your undergraduate degree completion.

These activities can also work to build professional skills that a classroom alone cannot foster alone. Being in a position of leadership in a society (society unions and student governments of colleges), for example, helps students learn essential skills in administration, organisation, and delegation. Being a part of a society in Delhi University most often has the effect of nurturing powerful team-building skills and guiding students in holding and achieving long-term goals. Extracurricular activities can smooth the progress of equipping students with many skills prospect or potential employers will be looking for. These programmes are also pleasurable and offer students the prospect to spend time with people of analogous interests. It helps students meet friends from different social groups and also acts as a de-stressor from the rigorous demands of their usual academic workload.

Feature Image Credits: Galin Education

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News

Delhi University Fails to Refund Application Fees After not Hiring Teachers

By Bhavya Banerjee January 8, 2018

Multiple colleges of the University of Delhi have been accused of not hiring permanent teachers even after two years of completion of the job interviews, and not refunding the application fees.

In 2015, around 40 colleges affiliated to Delhi University published advertisements seeking the employment of permanent teachers claiming that the appointment procedure will be initiated soon. However, the recent release of fresh advertisements in search of employment in the same positions has angered many candidates as they have been asked to pay the application fee once again.

Academic Council member Hansraj Suman told Times of India “Around 40 colleges have put out advertisements for the posts of assistant professors.” Suman informed that the colleges have asked for Rs.500 from General and Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates, and a sum of Rs. 250 from Scheduled Cast (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates as well as handicapped applicants. This frustration among the applicants arises from the fact that the application fee which was paid by them two years ago has still not been refunded. The dissatisfaction is a result of the lack of action and results on the University’s side to carry out the appointment of permanent teachers after the interviews were initially conducted in 2015. On top of that, the candidates have been asked to pay the application fees for the same position they interviewed for previously.

Suman assured that the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Delhi University has been notified about this issue in a recent Academic Council meeting. Times of India reported that according to Suman, “The VC had directed the registrar to send notices to colleges that had not made permanent appointments and asked them to return the application fee to the aspirants”. However, the various colleges have not carried out any refunds yet.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

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Why the Ban on Condom Ads During Prime-Time Hours is Wrong

By Bhavya Banerjee January 1, 2018

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry recently issued an order banning the broadcast of condoms commercials between 6 am in the morning to 10 pm at night, stating that it had received numerous complaints regarding their unpleasant impact on children.

It all started in September when a condom advertisement featuring Sunny Leone invited dissent from a Surat-based group. The ad was displayed on hoardings across the city and carried a message in Gujarati “play but with love” which was shared on social media by the public. City-based group Hindu Yuva Vahini conducted a protest at one of the locations where the advertisement was displayed. Recently, the government strictly asked T.V. channels not to air advertisements selling and promoting condoms because these are “indecent especially for children” and can create “unhealthy practices” among them.

This move by the Centre evoked strong reactions from not only domestic media and companies; but also from the international media.The New York Times laid emphasis on how conservative the society in India is whilst talking about the rampant growth in the country’s population, while BBC News called sex and contraception a taboo in our society. Reuters even reported “India’s decision to ban condom ads on daytime television drew widespread ridicule on Wednesday as a retrograde step that threatened progress on sexual and reproductive health.” The ministry has henceforth clarified that the ban is only on “sexually explicit” ads that are used primarily for P.R purposes. However, that does little to change the current practice in India of labeling anything sex-related as “taboo”.

The need of the hour, especially in our society, is to recognise that promoting the usage of condoms and the practice of safe sex is not the problem, it is rather the way condoms and contraceptives are marketed in India that is severely problematic. In India, condoms are advertised not as a resource of protection from unwanted pregnancies or Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s) but exclusively as a means of enhancing the sexual experience. This approach used by the advertisers results in the main essence of the advertisement becoming solely about sex and promoting redundant cosmetic advantages like an assortment of flavours, colours, patterns etc, and not about highlighting the practical advantages that come out of using protection. The very basic and primary functionalities of a condom are uncared for and not showcased in these advertisements.

In a country that hosts a constant rate of increasing population of 1.4 billion people, banning advertisements like these can only do more harm than good. Instead of prohibiting condom ads, the government should make active efforts to change the perception of the general public that heavily lacks sexual awareness. Sex needs to be welcomed by the Indian society as a part of a safe and hearty lifestyle as opposed to it being branded as “indecent” and “unhealthy”.

Feature image credits: Cosmopolitan

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Right to Play and the Debate Around It

By Bhavya Banerjee December 31, 2017

Sachin Tendulkar in his debut speech at the Rajya Sabha spoke about the importance of Right to Play.

We live in a society today that houses extreme contradictions in its beliefs. Every Sunday we turn on the TV and enjoy a cricket match or a late night football game, but when it comes to allowing our own children to pursue a sport as a career in their lives it is, in most cases, frowned upon. When a child begins his/her schooling s/he is always taught to focus on education and is presented the same slippery slope argument, which is that good grades will lead to success. All other recreational or creative activities are branded to be “extra-curriculars”, implying they aren’t essential to one’s life and development. This approach, however, is absolutely flawed.

Very recently, India’s most loved cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, who is also a nominated member of the Upper House of the Parliament, used his platform to voice concern over the matter of the exclusion of Right to Play in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education bill. In his speech, he laid emphasis on the importance of sports and urged the government to make the adequate amendment to the previously mentioned bill.

According to many psychological studies on child development, Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact with the world around them.

This issue raised by the former batsman is not one to be taken lightly. It is of high relevance in a country like India where more than half of the country’s 1.25 billion population is below the age of 25 and more than two-thirds, below 35. This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also used his platform and called upon children to engage in sports and take up other physical activities while expressing concerns over the rising number cases of obesity or malnutrition among children that are rampantly prevalent in India. Talking about this issue, the iconic athlete also cited many examples of national level players who are struggling to make ends meet while highlighting the importance of providing financial aid, he further added that sports can be considered an essential and mandated part of curriculum and consequently, each life should get the Right to Play at school.

Feature image credits: The Quint

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