A ‘like’ please!

By now, we are all aware that social media has had a tremendous impact on our culture, in business, on the world-at-large.  If we take a closer look at the effect of social media on politics, business and socialization we find that the demerits are much more than the merits. British companies have lost billions of dollars per year in productivity because of social media addiction among employees. Many introverts and socially reclusive users place too much emphasis on virtual interaction, and ignore the real world outside. If you are not careful, unscrupulous people can target you for cyber bullying and harassment on social sites. School children, young girls, and women can fall prey to online attacks which can create tension and distress. If you are not careful, what you post on the Net can come back to haunt you. Many companies perform a background check on the Internet before hiring an employee. 

People from all sects, good or bad, are increasingly preying on Social media. Ahmed Zalata isn’t a model or a celebrity; but he’s acting like he wants to be one. On a hill above the minarets of old Cairo, in one of the city’s only parks, a photographer snaps him posing in Ray-Ban sunglasses, ripped jeans and a patterned hipster’s jumper. It’s a common, if odd, sight in Egypt these days. Zalata’s photographer, 19-year-old Mohamed Effat, agrees: “People see it as the easiest way to become famous.” This roof topping craze has been labelled a misguided attempt at popularity by a social media expert. Publicity and Popularity are the most sought out factors these days. Recently, one of my friends made a serious note on this subject. He wrote, “Empty are those who yearn for popularity, however it be.” 

Ever since humanity appeared on earth we have been seeing frantic struggles and fights just for an upper hand in glory. This is evident in Politics. Popularity and publicity have become their purpose of living for the politicians. People are ready to screw out any tactics to reach this goal. Just because they do not know that these honours they yearn for are meaningless, they are absolutely empty, with nothing valuable inside. 

Catriona Pollard, a social media expert with CP Communication, said online media was creating a misguided subculture that provided children with a false sense of popularity and self achievement. She said, “If these kids see their peers doing it then it becomes acceptable and it turns into a popularity contest and the more followers they get the more it gives them a sense of fame. “This is particularly dangerous because that fame is not real and once you look at the world outside of that social media circle you see these actions are not acceptable at all. She has concluded her comment saying, “Education is the key to addressing this issues and I believe that can be done in schools.”

I think our leaders will revisit our educational strategies and syllabus, before the nation falls prey to a subculture of inhuman chivalry.

Joseph Mattappally