A few days ago, massive violent protests broke out in the United States after the death of an African-American youth. This violent protest was spontaneous but appropriated by social media. We have also experienced the widespread impact of social media in the past in the demonstrations that started on the Arab streets (which challenged the power of many dictators). Through social media, people are creating a new intellectual world by sharing their ideas with each other.
Freedom of speech and expression is an important aspect of democracy. The opportunities that social media has given to citizens to exercise this right, no one could have imagined a decade ago. In fact, through this platform the winds of change can be brought in the society. But, it is a matter of concern that at present social media remains in the news for its criticisms. In fact, the role of social media has become that of disturbing social harmony and promoting divisive thinking in the society instead of positive thinking.
In this article, there will be a detailed discussion on social media, its positive and negative impacts, situation in India, balance between social media and right to privacy and regulation of social media.
Meaning of social media
Social networking sites are an integral part of today's Internet, used by more than a billion people in the world. It is an online platform that allows users to create a public profile and interact with other users on the website.
Profiles are used to share your thoughts, talk to people you know or strangers. Example – Facebook, Twitter etc. In this entire process, the personal information of the user available on the website is also shared.
This entire process is based on information technology, where different types of software are used. The multiple modes of use and technological dependency make social networking sites vulnerable to a variety of threats.
Positive effect of social media
Social media is an important means of connecting with people around the world and has given a new dimension to communication in the world.
Social media can become the voice of those who are separate from the mainstream of society and whose voices have been suppressed.
Presently social media is acting as a good means of business for many businessmen.
Many types of employment have also been created with social media.
At present, social media is being used on a wide scale to spread awareness among common citizens.
Many researches have revealed that most of the people around the world receive everyday information only through social media.
Negative effects of social media
Many researches show that if any social media is used excessively then it can negatively affect our brain and lead us towards depression.
Social media promotes cyber-bullying.
It plays an important role in spreading fake news and hate speech.
There is a lack of privacy on social media and sometimes your personal data is at risk of being stolen.
The risk of cyber crimes like hacking and phishing etc. also increases.
Nowadays, the trend of fraud through social media has also increased a lot, these people look for such social media users who can be easily trapped.
Excessive use of social media can affect our physical and mental health in a big way.
Social media and India
Social media has given even the person standing at the last corner of the society an opportunity to connect with the mainstream of the society and express his views openly.
According to statistics, currently there are approximately 350 million social media users in India and according to estimates, this number will reach approximately 447 million by the year 2023.
According to a report released in the year 2019, Indian users spend an average of 2.4 hours on social media.
According to the same report, users in the Philippines use social media the most (on average 4 hours), while on this basis, users in Japan use social media the least (45 minutes).
Apart from this, social media also remains in discussion due to its criticisms. In fact, the role of social media has become that of disturbing social harmony and promoting divisive thinking in the society instead of positive thinking.
Controlling the misuse of social media has become a big challenge for the policy makers in India and people are also considering it seriously.
Misuse of social media
According to the data, in the year 2018-19, 3,245 objectionable materials were reported on many sites including Facebook and Twitter, out of which 2,662 materials were removed by June 2019.
It is notable that most of these contained material that violated laws prohibiting insult to religious sentiments and national symbols. The large amount of objectionable content found in this short period shows how much social media is being misused.
On the other hand, historical facts are also being distorted through social media. Not only are efforts being made to present historical events in a different form, but wrong information is also being shared on a large scale about the leaders who were the architects of independence.
According to the World Economic Forum report, the spread of misinformation through social media is one of the few major emerging risks in the world.
Surely this is not only a hindrance in the progress of the country, but it can also have dangerous consequences in the future. Therefore, it is necessary that the government of the country should seriously consider this issue and try to stop it completely.
Rules and regulations related to social media and fake news
Social media platforms in India already come under the purview of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2008.
If social media platforms are ordered by courts or law enforcement agencies to remove any content, they must do so.
There are also reporting mechanisms in place on social media platforms that attempt to detect whether any content is violating community guidelines and if found doing so, it is removed from the platform. .
There is no specific law to stop fake news in India. But there are many institutions in India which are working in this context-
Press Council of India: is one such regulatory body which can warn newspapers, news agencies and their editors if they are found to have violated the principles of journalism.
News Broadcasters Association: Represents private television news and current affairs broadcasters and investigates complaints against them.
Broadcasting Content Complaint Council: Receives and investigates complaints against TV broadcasters regarding objectionable TV content and fake news.
Social media and privacy issues
The current scenario provides a unique opportunity for India to create an innovative design for digital services that encompasses both personal and national security.
Privacy protection is a subject related to data protection because when a person uses the internet through a digital identity, a collection of various data is created from which the user's personal data can be easily obtained.
Therefore, the key challenge in designing a data protection framework is to protect long-term records through the use of digitization while at the same time maintaining confidentiality.
Effective data protection in India will require a hierarchy of data regulators and a strong regulatory framework that can protect our basic rights apart from the complex digital setup and consensus.
Conclusion
Last year, in a study by the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior, it was revealed that 89 percent of the tourists coming to India get information about India through social media. In fact, 18 percent of these people plan to visit India only when the content received from social media presents a good picture of India in their minds.
Social media has given a new dimension to the right to freedom of expression, today every person can express his views through social media without any fear and can reach it to thousands of people, but the misuse of social media has made it a dangerous tool. Has also been established as and its regulation. The need is constantly being felt.Therefore, it is necessary to find new options in consultation with all parties to stop the misuse of social media without violating the right to privacy, so that its possible side effects can be avoided in future.
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