Social media no gospel truth, use it wisely: Experts

 ​Hyderabad: State IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said the benefits of social media outweighed the negatives, but there was a need to create awareness to tap its potential.

Addressing the inaugural function of ‘Voice Positive’, a two-day workshop on ways to promote more positive voices on social media, organised by Facebook and Swaniti, in association with the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, (OU) and ICSSR (SR) here on Thursday, Ranjan said WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc were messengers. “They are the reflection of what is happening in society. They are more democratic than conventional media and empower the common people,” he said.

Noting that social media were also being used for hate campaigns and terrorist recruitments, Ranjan pointed out that there was a need for a law to control these trends, especially given that the Supreme Court struck down Section 66(A) of IT Act, 2000, and the relatively mild provisions of Section 153 of Indian Penal Code. 

Ranjan said awareness campaigns should be conducted to ensure that semi-literate people did not fall prey to false messages, and praised the campaigns run by Telangana police and the Information & Public Relations department on online security and etiquette.

Highlighting the problem of trolling on social media, Uma Sudhir, Resident Editor of NDTV, called for a ‘counter narrative from people, rather than regulations from the government’. 

Filmmaker Elahe Hiptoola asked the students not to take social media as the gospel truth, underscoring the fact that the virtual world was different from the real world. Pointing out how a falsehood was repeated on social media to make it look like truth, Hiptoola said, “Apply your minds. It is the smart thing to do”.

Prof D Ravinder, Principal, Arts College, urged students to inculcate positive thinking and help build the nation. Earlier, Prof K Stevenson, Head, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, welcomed the participants and highlighted the need for such workshops. Over 50 students/ researchers/ faculty members from affiliated colleges and the university attended the workshop. Prof B Balaswamy, Chairperson, Board of Studies, proposed the vote of thanks.