Social media has been playing a significant role in our lives. Though it came into existence in the late 90s, it was only after 2006 that Facebook was made open to everyone. It emerged as the most popular social networking website having the largest number of users globally. Prior to this, Orkut, Myspace, Friendster etc were the social media websites which were used by a section of internet using people.
It won’t be incorrect to say that Facebook actually laid the real foundation of the social media era. Reports say, “As of the first quarter of 2019, Facebook had 2.38 billion monthly active users. In the third quarter of 2012, the number of active Facebook users had surpassed one billion, making it the first social network ever to do so.”
The other popular social media sites which came after Facebook are YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, WeChat, Snapchat and so on. As per latest reports, YouTube has over 1.9 billion monthly active users; WhatsApp, which is undoubtedly the fastest messaging application with the new business feature, has over 1.5 billion monthly active users; Messenger has over 1.3 billion monthly active users; Instagram which is perhaps the favorite of all, having amazing features of photo and video sharing, has more than 1 billion monthly active users; Twitter, which keeps the celebrities on trend and their followers updated, has around 350 million users.
The use of social media has been gradually increasing. According to a report by Statista Report Department, social media users around the globe had gone 2.62 billion in 2018 which was more than one-third of the global population. This year, it is estimated to reach about 2.77 billion and subsequently around 3.02 billion users by 2021.
In India, since the launch of Jio 4G internet and fall in smartphone prices, social media users have unimaginably risen. There were around 326.1 million social media users in India in 2018 and the number is anticipated to reach around 448 million by 2023.
Well, it is good to have an increase in the number of internet and smartphone users as it contributes to the soft power of the nation. But as said, everything comes with both pros and cons. The rapid increase in the use of social media can be exemplified with countless dreadful instances happening across the globe in present times and India is no to exception. With this rise in the usage everywhere, proper regulations and maintenance have become the need of the hour. Its unethical use has reached to the zenith. The circulation of hate, fake news, propaganda over Facebook, WhatsApp is witnessed every day. Also, its excessive use has deteriorated human habits creating unhealthy relationships. A 2018 report says over 210 million people had become victims of internet and social media addictions worldwide.
Over the years, social media has turned into a necessity. And there is no doubt that human lives have become easier like never before in terms of connecting with people without being physically present face to face with anyone from anywhere in the world. The sharing of pictures, videos, documents and so on has become easier.
Moreover, social media has become a source of earning for many people. Online blogging, marketing, advertising, internet citizen journalism and so on have popularly emerged in the present time. It is indeed a revolution in the digital world that has changed human lifestyles, creating great impacts in the society.
But the ill effects are more serious and have gone to the extreme. It is high time we need to realise that only being active in the virtual world won’t make us more human in the real world. Neither using it for wrong reasons would lead us towards humanity. Instead, we should take this technology as a blessing and make genuine use of it.
Today on this special occasion of ‘World Social Media Day’, let us promote this wonderful technology and vow to ourselves to use it wisely.
(Contributed by Karun Lama)