Many people use social media every day to keep in touch with other people & for news events. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
It is irrefutable that more and more people are using social media for staying connected with family and friends and for keeping up to date with the news. I believe that while there are certain drawbacks of this trend, the advantages are far more.
The main advantage of social media is that in this fast-paced era, it is only possible to stay connected with others nowadays because of social media. An increasing number of people are working long hours and hence they frequently lose touch with each other. Thus, if not for social media, it would be impossible to revive the lost links with old contacts. People can now reconnect with so many of their childhood friends, with whom they had lost contact over the years for various reasons.
Another benefit is that people have become much more knowledgeable about global affairs and news due to social media. In India, for example, the traditional news media like the TV and newspapers mainly focus on domestic news, while news on social media covers both domestic and international news. For example, when people go through Facebook pages of their friends living abroad, they come to know about many international happenings. Moreover, today many people don’t have the time to sit down in front of the TV or open a newspaper and read it. People are always in a rush. Social media at least makes sure people are aware of what’s happening around them.
On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks of social media. The first drawback is that it has reduced face to face contact. People prefer chatting rather than visiting friends in person. As a result, they don’t share the same kind of bond that they did earlier. Secondly, there is a lot of misinformation being spread on the internet. There is no way to authenticate what is true and what is false. For instance, a piece of false news was spread on WhatsApp that people from a particular part of India were being killed in Bangalore. This led to a lot of people from that region leaving the city, although nothing of such nature had happened in reality.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that despite the negatives of people preferring social media to keep in touch with each other and for reading news, its merits are far more. I also feel that governments should try to keep a check on the misinformation being spread on social media.
Plan followed
Intro: Advantages are more
Para 1: Advantages
Para 2: Advantages
Para 3: Disadvantages
Conclusion: Reiterate opinion
Written by: Indroop Singh Makkar
