Young professionals : are we being influenced or informed by social media?

Social media has changed the perspective about how people analyse a situation. There was a time when the random few means through which information was circulating was by reading newspapers, listening to the radio or watching television. But nowadays, information flows at lightning speed on social media. The question arises: are we being informed or rather influenced?

Mohammad Zafiir Bholah : “More circulation of fake news”

Nowadays, people seem to get most of the daily news on Facebook newsfeed rather than watching the news bulletin on TV, says Zafiir. “It is an effective way for obtaining information but people blindly believe whatever they see on social media. “Many people do not attempt to ponder over the information, whether what is being presented to them is accurate. Many people attempt to use social media sites to circulate fake news. Social media affects the opinions and lives of the public negatively with the information being presented to them through a different light away from the truth.”

Nishta Jooty : “It is very easy to become misinformed”

It is undeniable that social media is part of our lives, says Nishta. “It not only allows us to browse news, but also to keep in touch with our friends and relatives around the world, to listen to music and watch videos, to share our views but also to find a job. We have immediate access to information and social media is an essential marketing channel for all businesses.” However, Nishta avers that social media also allows people to hide behind anonymity and hence, they are not held accountable for their online behaviour. “Social media provides us with numerous sources of information from which we can draw our own conclusions about world issues. But if we are not intelligent enough, it is very easy to become misinformed, confused or be under a delusion. Social media comes with its ups and downs and we need to embrace it while setting limits on the extent to which it controls our lives.”

Yeshna Dindoyal : “It dominates our lives”

Yeshna states that social media has become the preferred source of news, offering an array of point of views that help people shape their opinion. “Social media will continue to dominate our lives, and it is up to us to devise new creative ways to use this tool to change the world, with our positive approach. We must not let ourselves be influenced by social media. We have, within us, enough strength to change the world. The youth can make effective use of social media to empower, and be brave enough to challenge the status-quo.”

Tariq Jhungeer : “A sound balance is needed”

Social media is the new trend and it is not surprising to see so many people using this platform, highlights Tariq. “Social media allows friends or relatives to keep in touch although they might be in different countries. With a single click, messages, pictures and even videos can be shared. Moreover, one gets the opportunity to interact with people from different corners of the world. However, social media creates a lot of issues in one’s life. For instance, anyone might hack into your account, steal your personal information and use it in adverse ways. Anyone can download your pictures and distort it in an evil way. Even worse, people can follow you and get track of your personal activities and then attack you wherever you are. Social media is definitely an innovative way of doing things, but people using it should definitely have a sound balance of both its positive and negative aspects.”