Independence and Social Media

So for the 68^th time in the Indian history, the prime minister gave his customary address from the Red Fort in Delhi on occasion of the Independence Day. While most of it was like a ritual, what was a noticeable though was Modi bringing up aspects of social development through the most basic civil conduct. Actually, it was quite strange when he made it a point that we still lack basic civic sense when it comes to cleanliness and sanitation- the basic elements that build up a society. What can be disturbing though is the fact that we are at this stage when India is somewhere in between when it comes to being a developing and developed nation on this planet.

If looked upon in all of truth and honesty; the social structure we exist in today is one of vast ironies. Social structures move from an individual to a family to a community and finally a nation and aspects of cleanliness and sanitation actually exist at the initial steps of self and family. It is an individual who litters or ignores his garbage disposal; or an individual or family that first thinks about sanitation in and around the house. In most cases this is an issue which has not been addressed so far as we see filth and garbage all across- not to mention use of open spaces to defecate. I believe it was

What was surprising though was response of people on social media where Modi was applauded for not sheltering behind the bullet proof enclosure; but also getting critical of his lack of mention for women’s safety and gender rights or inflation while on the dais. But even if the move to curb down the freedom to litter and pee anywhere is like a rhetoric on moral responsibility of every citizen; Modi would not be averse to some comments on social media… in a big way; it is one reason the wave spread so rapid and won him the top post.

I’m sometimes amazed at what social media can throw up as a response to every move that happens across the world. It might be also one social aspect of today that India is not lagging behind in- Social Media. It is kind of funny how the fundamental rights of expression has found a way to open up by means of social media. Yes, however fundamental it might have been as a right, media has always been sceptic to carry anything that can be drawing them into any kind of controversy of draw a backlash from the people or the government. Believe it or not, social media has been a revelation or sorts.

May be not so refined and rapid as today, but pen friend networks, chain mails, topical chat rooms and SMS forwards were the first forms of social networks I have known. Then came Gtalk status messages before twitter and Facebook took over. Honestly all these are inexpensive modes as getting someone outing together words never needs big budgets. But an astonishing fact has been the rise and rise of YouTube communities which put up videos especially created for mass consumption on social media.

Today, YouTube is flooded with videos specially designed and produced for internet sharing and the number of such channels is on a high. Initially, there was The Viral Fever (TVF) and All India Bakchod (AIB) which I had subscribed. But soon there have been lots more like East India Comedy (EIC) and Being Indian which have all come up. What is significant is that initially, they were all platforms to mock people and politicians. The biggest advantage, there is little or no moderation on the content. So if you wish to pay your regards to mothers and sisters or explore the universe on the other end of Uranus, you can do so without bothering too much on how it portrays you.

But I would like to believe that within a short span, these channels have also realised that mocking alone is not likely to retain their audiences. So while they still maintain a quirky outlook towards what people and politicians do, they have also built a new perspective to voice the public opinion. In recent times, these channels have voiced the general opinion on the social outlook towards women, their safety, what people feel about censorship or just mock sex education in schools.

The fact that they find sponsors in e-retailers like SnapDeal also speaks that the brand really is not worried about any kind of backlash it can have based on the opinions expressed in the content or mocking of the country’s leadership. In fact, given that the audience is mostly the young and the impulse driven shoppers; it is smart business sense.

I would say this is a new level of Independence which has found its voice through Social media. It doesn’t matter if a certain channel or newspaper will hear your voice; you can do it yourself. If you talk for the moment- it is looking highly impactful. But as always; how it will remain so and how less it has adverse effects will only be decided by time and self-regulations people demonstrate in its use during the course.