From being a simple platform to connect friends and family it has almost become a new, parallel society. Social media has created a world where you can 'follow' every little development in the life of your favourite football player, question a political leader on decisions and policies or tell the world how your favourite restaurant ended up serving you a soup with a fly in it. Better still, you can upload a picture to prove your claim! Social media seems to have handed over a great amount of power to the man on the street. And it is power that nobody wants to take lightly. The 'powers that be' seem to be jumping on to the bandwagon, trying to "connect with the masses". So, is social media actually creating a social revolution? Gulf News readers debate.
14:05 Gulf News: [Considering] the unique way in which people connect through social media platforms, do you think social media has created a classless society?
14:07 Fizza Mehdi: No, it hasn't. It has given people from different classes a platform to connect with each other but certainly not created a classless society.
14:09 Subhasis Mukherjee: It connects, it bonds, it helps career as well as corporate growth, to top it all it helps deliver social justice with wide consensus ... so it deals with all classes.
14:12 Minakhee Mishra: Many people can connect with like-minded people from varied classes. An aspiring writer for instance can engage in conversation, share insight with an expert.
14:12 Thomas Kurian: Social media can be considered a tool for branding yourself/organisation in the online community.
14:14 Minakhee Mishra: The content in a social media is user generated. The authenticity is questionable because it cannot be verified.
14:15 Fizza Mehdi: Sometimes, when you're sitting on a dinner table with your friends, and they get busy on Twitter or Facebook, it seems they are globally connected (to everyone else) but mentally disconnected (from us!)
14:15 Gulf News: So, is social media creating more isolation?
14:17 Sunil Roy: Very true, Fizza. Social media is creating islands of like minded people.
14:17 Minakhee Mishra: When networking becomes an isolation then virtual world becomes a reality in itself. That is where we tend to become isolated from the real world.
14:20 Thomas Kurian: No, it does not create isolation if the social media is used as an informative channel.
14:20 Gulf News: But do you think it is making governments or world leaders more accountable?
14:20 Sunil Roy: Social networks are useful when there is a common cause that needs the support of people who think alike.
14:21 Thomas Kurian: Online platforms should be used to draw attention on issues and people that inspire you and could be helpful to the community.
14:21 K. Ragavan: Today [social] media is playing a vital role, one has to accept that.
14:23 Subhasis Mukherjee: The real implications for this movement are tangible, imminent, and indicate a paradigm shift for the way local, state, and federal governments will work.
14:24 Sunil Roy: Social media provides a platform for people to express and at times it is misused for personal gains.
14:25 Fizza Mehdi: I think the mass media coverage through TV and newspapers, is still more powerful. Governments are likely to ignore what people are blogging, Facebooking or Tweeting about and take it just as a fad.
14:25 Sunil Roy: The ethics that is associated with journalism is missing in social media.
14:27 Subhasis Mukherjee: But social media has to be regulated for it to be more accountable.
14:28 Minakhee Mishra: Social media has not forced government into transparency. However, it has made the government aware of the needs of the people, which has forced them to be more accountable.
14:29 Gulf News: Alright let's move to the point that most of you have touched upon: the fact that information on social media cannot immediately and easily be verified.
14:30 Subhasis Mukherjee: Transparency is the key to deliver justice, social media helps achieve that.
14:31 Fizza Mehdi: And a huge class of people, who cannot read or write, are being ignored unless someone is Tweeting on their behalf, so their needs are still not being considered and they are a huge part of many societies, if not UAE.
14:31 Sunil Roy: With a little effort any information can be easily verified, especially since online news channels are very active.
14:31 Huzaifa Kalimi: If it is regulated then how can we be sure if it is authentic?
14:32 Gulf News: But do you think that social media suffers from the grave danger of misinformation?
14:33 Minakhee Mishra: Yes, there is danger lurking for people with little or wrong information about social media. That is true especially for the young adults and children, who are at a vulnerable stage.
14:34 Thomas Kurian: Misinformation can be limited if you have quality followers. [Too many] followers can lead to more misinformation.
14:36 Gulf News: Alright, moving to the final statement of debate — Corporations have not truly understood the accountability that comes with social media.
14:37 Subhasis Mukherjee: Yes, as companies develop their social media programs, responsibilities and resources need to be allocated and that leads to accountability and “ownership”. For successful social media adoption within organisations, it is important to establish social media goals and responsibilities in different parts of the organisation.
14:38 Thomas Kurian: The governments and corporations have to understand the limitations and accountability before joining this community.
14:38 Fizza Mehdi: Yes they have not! Anyone can create a Twitter page dedicated to their favourite brand but it could be misleading and not reflect the brand's true image and affect its [branding].
14:38 Sunil Roy: Many are effectively using social media to reach out to their target audience. And most of these organisations know that their every action is always under scrutiny. This makes them more responsible.
14:40 Thomas Kurian: Corporations need to be extra careful since this is an opportunity for all and everyone to give their opinion without any controls.
14:44 Gulf News: Alright, so finally do you think social media is creating a social revolution?
14:45 Eisha Gupta: Social media is an effective tool if used in the right way but of course it's up to us to use it well.
14:46 Raghunath Nair: Social media is definitely a paradigm shift in the field of marketing communications. But it also triggers in creating a society with socio-cultural paradoxes. Individuals start feeling the pressure of being both global and local citizens carrying conflicting, intertwined values in their minds. Corporations which assist the consumers in managing these paradoxes by providing the necessary direction and connection will be able to reap the benefits from social media.
14:46 Sunil Roy: Not very sure if it is creating a revolution. It may be just another passing fad. We need to wait and see the role it plays.
14:46 Fauzia Raza: A revolution but without a set perspective, aim or a clear, healthy platform.
14:46 Fizza Mehdi: It is creating a revolution within a certain aspect of society. Whether it's creating a total social revolution is still arguable.
14:47 Eisha Gupta: Through it you interact with people of different and similar mindsets and you get information about them. Thus it helps us connect virtually and emotionally.
14:47 Huzaifa Kalimi: Yes I believe it is mainly because it has paved an entirely new way of communication. At a point where an email or a telephone call was the only solution this has changed everything. Perhaps not entirely but it has begun.
