Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel recently
took to Facebook to resign from her post. This move
of hers goes to show how big a part social media plays
in our lives. Though it’s the first time a politician has
used social media in this manner, we keep finding
such announcements in our Facebook newsfeed
all the time. Right from announcing weddings,
childbirths, completion of education, new jobs, to
even the demise of a loved one, social media is full of
all these announcements. So, it’s safe to say that these
networking sites have, in a way, started to replace
personal communication as far as the announcements
of life events are concerned.
For Prasanjeet Dhage, student, posting on social
media is a great way of informing people about what’s
happening in one’s life. “Frankly, in this busy life, we
hardly get a chance to interact with all the people
we know. So putting it up on Facebook or Twitter
is a great way of informing people of what’s going
on. As we don’t really have time, we might miss out
on informing some of our contacts, especially the
acquaintances we aren’t in regular contact with. In
these cases, posting on Facebook is very helpful as
your message reaches one and all, at the same time,”
feels Prasanjeet.
While reaching out to maximum people is the
merit social media boasts of, for some, it also turns
out to be a disadvantage. “Most of the people use
Facebook when it comes to announcing stuff. For me
however, this is not appealing anymore, as the news
also ends up reaching the people we are trying to
avoid,” says Prabhav Sidhaye, software engineer.
Pravin Surjuse, who recently informed his
friends and family of the birth of his baby boy on
Facebook, says, “As a majority of the people I know
use Facebook, I find it really easy to reach out to
them through this medium, rather than calling or
messaging each one of them. Contacting each one
separately always leaves the possibility of missing out
on someone or the other. Also, in situations such as
this one, we hardly have the time to inform everyone
personally amidst all the other work and chaos.”
Adding further, he mentions that it’s not just the
individuals who use social media for announcements.
“Companies and organisations do it all the time. Social
media is like an advertising platform as it reaches out
to the world at large for mass publicity,” he opines.
Although it’s the youngsters who are usually the
ones to start such trends, there are some youngsters
who don’t turn to social media for everything. “I
feel, being in touch with your friends and family is
the most important thing. With the advent of social
media, people nowadays have lost contact with each
other. I agree that they are connected virtually, but
there is no bond as such, like it used to be earlier.
At least from a close friend, or a family member, I
would expect a call or personal invitation rather than
reading an announcement on Facebook,” Anuja Joshi,
a management student, expresses.
The debate on what is the right way to express
your important news and what isn’t will go on and
on. However, in the end, it all comes down to what
you are comfortable with. Apeksha Potdar, student,
concludes, “The world is changing. We live in a
globalised society and our circles are wider. Facebook,
or any other social media site, is how we stay
connected with friends in different parts of the world.
Sometimes personal messages are not always easy to
get across. Posts on social media are just a practical
method of connecting with friends instantly.”
