Featured
Is social media against free speech?
Social media has become a global phenomenon. All the social networking sites are being extensively and routinely used throughout the world. Most frequently used today, Facebook has approximately 1.8 billion users. YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets, likewise, are rapidly increasing their global footprint and user base.
What happens in one corner of the world can be read, heard, and seen almost simultaneously in another. Social media provides a context where people across the world can communicate, exchange messages and pictures, share knowledge, and interact with each other regardless of the distance that separates them.
The breadth and impact of social media on our society is tremendous. In less than a decade, it has disrupted journalism, influenced global politics, and altered commerce by providing a platform for instantaneous global communication. Today, Social media has become a lifestyle, not only for professional purposes but by becoming a prime part of our personal and private lives as well.
Social media is a venue where one can express his or her views, no matter how favorable or abrasive. People post whatever they want and thrive for likes comments shares and followers, ignoring the backdrop of social media. Expression of one’s thought is no more a personal matter. Views pertaining to sensitive issues like race, culture, religion and nationality can either become influential or extremely turbulent. Despite the vast differences in freedom of expression across the world, the one constant is that each nation has developed its own set of standards that comport with what society or government there believes is in the best interests of that society.
When it comes to legal systems, each nation defines what it wants to permit as acceptable speech by its citizens. What is shared at a moment can get viral at the other, imposing threats to various innocent lives. What is freedom of speech for one person can be considered as an attack on the other, therefore, causing the person who has posted something in the name of freedom of speech to get caught in a legal trouble or receive utter hatred.
Another major backlash of using social media as our prime source of information and sharing our notions is that it does not distinguish between fact and fiction. Also, the media does not hesitate to report untruth when it suits its interests.This has frightening implications that have already surfaced. What social media does not communicate is whether the image, video, or story is real or staged, misinformation and fact coexist.
Most of the people, especially the youth can get easily swayed by whatever they see. Public opinion can be easily manipulated by using misinformation to promote an agenda. This poses an existential threat to democratic societies and the rule of law.
Well, there is no denying the fact that social media is the best forum to reach the minds of massive audience. But what needs to be overlooked is that lies spread quickly on social media. Whether it is fallacious stories designed to look credible, clickbait-y and misleading headlines or edited Tweets, the sheer volume and reach of fake news is astounding, and the repercussions are real.
The only thing that will solve this problem is making it a point to laud fact-checking and truth-seeking above viral posts and reductive arguments. There needs to be a cultural shift away from “seeing is believing.”
Social media posts are often launched into the digital universe before they’ve gone through any type of approval process. The results can range from mildly embarrassing, to the downright offensive. We must be mature and cautious enough to know both, the boon and the bane of social networking sites and make use of them with wit and smartness.
Farmers form the backbone of the Indian Economy, making up more than 40% of the workforce. However, every day 28 people dependent on farming commit suicide—the post-harvest losses in the country amount to over 93,000 crores per year. The loss of 93,000 crores constitutes approximately 40% of the country’s total produce. This occurs due to the perishable nature of agricultural produce, which often forces farmers to sell their produce at the prevailing market price, be it high or low, thereby resulting in a loss of bargaining power.
Addressing this issue through the positive power of social entrepreneurship, Enactus DCAC, an international not for profit student body organisation, initiated Project Zaraat for the upliftment of the farming community. The mission of Project Zaraat is to minimise post-harvest losses and enhance forward linkages through a self-sustaining social enterprise.
Project Zaraat | Image Source: NAC Media
Under the mentorship and guidance of Michigan State University and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Zaraat provides the farmers with a unique storage solution that works on the principle of evaporative cooling. It is affordable, portable, and eco-friendly, making it different from conventional storage facilities. Moreover, this solution increases the shelf life of the produce by upto ten days, ensuring that the quality of produce does not deteriorate. Apart from this, they also aim to partner with various B2B aggregators to ensure a rise in income for the farmers and provide them with payment security.
Project Zaraat | Image Source: NAC Media
Currently, they are in the process of integrating farmers into an FPO to ensure collective bargaining power. They are also exploring sustainable agriculture practices that are vital in a climate constrained world.
Project Zaraat is a recipient of the KPMG Ethics Grant and also received a Special Mention at the Enactus Early Stage National Competition 2021.
Building on this by the end of the year, they aim to sustain the lives of 100 farmers by providing them with an income boost of 25%, reduce post-harvest losses by a whopping 60%, and minimise the energy consumption by 20%. For more information, visit www.enactusdcac.com.
Project Zaraat by Enactus DCAC
Retake 2022 is on its way!
हेलीकॉप्टर दुर्घटना में सीडीएस जनरल बिपिन रावत, उनकी पत्नी और 11 अन्य की मौत
-
Relationships6 years ago10 Reasons Why Girls Easily Fall For Doctors
-
Featured6 years agoLounge Review | tfs Club Lounge, Kolkata
-
Lifestyle6 years agoLife Lessons We Learn From Harry Potter
-
Lifestyle3 years agoSeptember 2019 In India: Festival And Events
-
Bollywood6 years ago7 Reasons Why We Should Support Sunny Leone
-
Relationships6 years agoArranged Marriages Vs Love Marriages
-
Movies & Music6 years agoLove, Betrayal, Killing – Three shots that changed three lives and the nation
-
Lifestyle6 years ago10 Reasons Why School Life Is Awesome