There was a time when we had just radio to hear the news and after that we entered in to advance age of TV with one government channel covering all type of news what was happening in the country and outside world. Then there was explosion of TV channels and the credit goes to Gen Musharraf who opened TV channels for public and now we have over 100 TV channels to entertain people of Pakistan.The greatest blunder was that no scrutiny was held in medfrancy of enlightened moderation this was ignored which letter on resulted a pain in the neck. With the facility of internet we got connected with the rest of the world. IT advanced dramatically and we had cell phones that now cover what is happening in the world and you can get information in a flick of a second. You Tube, face book, Instagram and many such applications became so popular that life has become so easy.
Sitting in Pakistan the world is in your hand held smart phone while talking you can see them on your mobile screen just free of cost you just pay for the internet charges.In olden days for three minutes call to UK the charges were more than rupees two hundred. What a revolution. No more letter writings, sending telegrams just email any amount of letters so much so you can transmit complete book in shortest possible time. Undoubtedly it has made life easier but at the same time it has many grave disadvantages due to criminals who exploited this technology and has virtually destroyed the social values of people and equally destroyed the culture. It has ruined the families, fraud and forgery has become very common and now things are getting out of control. No doubt government has introduced cyber crime act but the culprits are not pushed at all. Social media has changed everything Restrictions imposed by government are openly flouted on social media without any fear of law. There are no rules and regulations everybody is free to upload any material of his own interest. The type of some material we find on social media is certainly destroying the younger generation because it provides free entertainment. All over the word social media is playing very important role but in under developed countries like Pakistan this liberty is being grossly misused. It is now so easy to spread false news, sectarianism, extremism, fundamentalism, and terrorism.
Social media has positive as well as negative effect therefore due care must be exercised while making use of it. It changes your lives and especially the senior citizens can talk to their children sitting abroad in a flick of a second. It is helping in curing the patients and you can select the right medicine for the disease without going to doctor
There are over 4.5 billion people using social media it has become a potent weapon, it is certainly destroying our younger generation and especially in Pakistan it has become very dangerous as we find people without verifying the facts upload the contents and carry out character assassination of even good people, therefore its monitoring is very important. The west is utilizing it for useful purpose but here in Pakistan it is the reverse. We saw closure of you tube for years and except few cries dust settled down it was good step by the government and we got used to it, heaven did not fall down. Now it is again open. Secondly people have opened web channels and air their program like TV channels. It is very strange that there is no check, no license by PEMRA, anyone can open web channels and start transmissions. People thrown out from different TV channels find it so convenient to open their channel,. They should be brought under regulations after proper security clearance.
We are a divided nation with different culture and it is being amply displayed on social media without any check. Their open display has further divided us into various sects, groups and propaganda through small short clips on social media is creating negative effect and increasing hatred between various segments of society. We have to be careful from such elements and fight them out.
The fact of the matter is that social media has attained the position of state pillar its correct use can create great impact on society because it allows you freedom of speech without obtaining any license and there are no charges for it. There is darker side also fabricated and wrong news is spread, there is need to impose some sort of check so that its misuse could be stopped. We have to do something to control this menace as it is being grossly misused. It has its own advantages the best example is of Turkey when a faction of army revolted against President Tayyab Erdogan, it was through social media that the coup was foiled. Latest we find some glimpses of atrocities being committed on Kashmiris and non stop curfew in occupied Kashmir since 5 August 2019. The only source is social media that is effectively showing real face of Modi’s brutalities on unarmed Kashmiris. It is true we cannot stop it but it can be banned but that is not the solution but we must draw a line between good and bad to save our new generation, the solution lies in more education, education and more education to distinguish what is good and what is bad.