A blatant intrusion into one’s personal space, crossing the line of decency under the guise of ‘free speech’, hate speech in the name of opinionated comments and analysis, downvoted commentary in the name of trolls, and high views for hyper-sensational for.
These are some of the traits that have been attributed to social media, which has distorted perceptions on what people are reporting.
Agreeing with this view, renowned actor and writer Tanikela Bharani expresses pain over the way social media targets and defames celebrities.
talking to Hindu, he sees a need for bloggers and ‘media analysts’ to display a sense of responsibility.
“Media earlier meant only newspapers, magazines, radio and television channels, which operate under a comprehensive framework and with certain restrictions to ensure ethical reporting. We need to rethink on improving the functioning of social media,” he says.
Mr Bharani also expresses annoyance at the ease with which celebrities are targeted and their dirty linen is washed in public.
On the respect given to the dead under the guise of ‘free speech’, Mr Bharani found the views in the blogger’s speech and comments section so outrageous.
“There was a time when tributes remembered great things about a departed soul. But today’s remarks cast a negative hue against the man who was among us till that day. How is that justified?” She wondered.
‘negative energy’
Coming to the visual part, Mr. Bharani is of the view that terrifying and bizarre images/videos scattered across the web can trigger ‘negative energy’ in humans.
“Even the tragedy of 9/11, considered one of the heinous events of our times, was responsibly covered up with suggestive images of buildings and avoiding bloodshed. But today our ‘unrestrained’ social media channels show the mutilated human parts without any hesitation, creating a sense of unease among the viewers. It has to be reduced,” he observes.
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