How Social media has turned into a catalyst for change -By Manasa Bharathi from NMIMS Bangalore

From being a remote shack on a busy road to becoming the hub spot for Brand’s Sponsorship battle, Baba ka Dhaba has come a long way. Mahatma Gandhi once quoted, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world”. Yes, that’s the tremor Social Media has created by proving to be an angel in disguise for Baba and people alike. Undoubtedly, it can never be an invalid instrument but rather a catalyst for change.

For many of us, the IPL craze has just not diminished from our minds, and as an ardent fan of cricket, I would like to describe a few Social applications in an analogous comparison to this sport. Twitter, the platform that trends the most with an immense amount of aggression and style is like our very own Indian captain Virat Kohli. FB is always our captain cool – MS Dhoni, the evergreen application that has retired itself from the buzz and yet liked by most. The class and professionalism never go out of style for LinkedIn and AB De Villiers. KL Rahul and his team gave us a mixed bag of emotions just like the emojis of WhatsApp. 

Social Media has been a dashboard of posts, views, comments, likes and dislikes that has transformed the world into a dynamic system. There are many petals of tech-enabled activities and services that constitute the flower of Social Media. 

Articulating ARNABasiously

Social media remains to be ‘The Hercules’ in terms of communicating any message to an individual or mass by a lone wolf, brand or party. Organisations are battling to stay socially intelligent by having their own pages, posting videos, advertisements, creatives and user-generated content on various platforms and at times get involved in a light-hearted Twitteratti war with the competitors.

During the Bihar elections, the political bigwigs of the ruling party said no to roadshows or rallies and rather took to propagating the content through Social media - Facebook and WhatsApp. Around 9500 members spearheaded the IT wing for running digital mobile campaigns that generated awareness among every household.

#Metoo movement has become an ongoing campaign for women who wish to speak about their agony, breaking out of the cocoon. In this regard, Social media has indeed given wings to their voice which otherwise would have been constrained within the four walls, bringing about a change like no other.

Hashtag for a cause

During the COVID pandemic outbreak, stranded Indian students from abroad tweeted and posted their desire to come back to their homes in India. With #BringBackIndianStudents going viral, actor Sonu Sood swiftly addressed the issues via social media and turned out to be a real-life protagonist by arranging chartered flights for the student community. This was done post his noble act of helping the migrant workers to reach their native towns.

Personalising Cerebrum 

It is said, “Thoughts become words and words become actions”. Looking at the psychological influence of social media, it could be rephrased as “Their posts become our thoughts, these thoughts become words and those words become our post”.

Nowadays, our Instagram feed & stories are filled with OTT series’ reviews even before we decide to watch them.  This literally triggers the excitement and urges us to binge-watch them with already preconceived notions in the back of our mind. This happens because we do not want FOMO to hit us.

There have been thousands of people who have adopted Veganism after having been exposed to various pages and information on its benefits. The love for wildlife and animals has sprouted everywhere, again thanks to environmentalists’ handles and Philozoics who post their cute cuddles with pets at home.

UncAPPed Hero

2020 has proven to be a tough year for millions across the world. The sinister virus took a toll on the physical and mental health of the human race.  We bow to all the Corona warriors who have rest assured a peaceful life for all of us. However, there is another latent frontline champion who has digitally kept our lives afloat.

With large chunks of people losing jobs and their offers being rescinded, Social Media helped the majority by opening the door for new opportunities through LinkedIn and various forums, marking the onset of change. To beat the WFH blues, netizens kickstarted their journey as fitness freaks and master chefs with the help of videos and live classes conducted online. It was this period that saw a spike in the number of Vloggers who have showcased their talent to the world through pages of their own and ended up earning something for their pockets. 

Ping Pang

Change is the only constant. It is beneficial if it instils a layer of foundation to build upon and progress. However, it might sometimes prove detrimental too if not adopted with caution. While it mostly helps us to be ourselves, in a few circumstances, it leads us to mime someone or something that has had a huge influence on us. Eventually, individualism is lost. It has also become an arena for anti-social elements, notorious folks to spread fake news and rumours incessantly which not only damages the reputation of the concerned but also diffuses negative vibes among all browsers. 

To sum it up, Social Media is significant to bring about a change, however, it's vital to make use of it prudently.  For all we know, there is a Dark Mode feature available in every application and the decision to switch it ON or OFF is ours.

This article was submitted by Manasa Bharathi, in response to D2C Business Sagas. If you'd like to send your story, click here.