God created man, animals, plants, and every living entity. It is often said that man is the best among all living beings. He continuously evolved from being a primitive man of the Stone Age to the modern man of the 21st century. Every century in mankind has its role in the progress of society. Similarly, the 21st century is considered as the century of the era of ‘Internet and social media’.
Internet Is the Lifeline of World
now you don’t need to stand in serpentine queues for hours to buy a train, or air tickets. You can book your tickets in a matter of seconds through the Internet. If you are planning to purchase something, but feeling tired of going to the mall, market or your neighborhood shop, you can still buy things online and get it delivered to your home.
There is no second opinion that the internet has indeed made the life of human beings simple and convenient. To take further advantage of this amazing platform, you need to have a GPRS enabled phone or laptop with an active internet connection. The Internet has brought a revolution in the field of information and technology, and now the entire world is dancing to its tune.
Different Hues of Web Media
although the internet helps us in multiple ways, its most effective forms are social media and search engines. If you see things from India’s point of view, in recent years the importance of Indian social media has definitely increased. Talking of search engines, no one can beat Google. It’s the best you have. It doesn’t matter what kind of information you need from anywhere, and from any part of the world, just ask Google. It has a solution for everything. Google has changed the life of people from every class, every field, and every place.
Google has now become an integral part of our daily lives. We cannot think of a work that doesn’t need help from Google. Everyone whether he is student, professional, artiste, journalist, businessman, political leader, sportsman, film actor, or a housewife – they all need Google for different reasons. In today’s time, there are many areas where people are entirely dependent on Google. Google is the biggest provider of livelihood in the world, and it won’t be an exaggeration to say that without Google, it’s almost impossible to work.
Gmail is an important member of Google’s family, and its email service has proved to be an excellent medium of communication, and exchanging information among people. Besides text messages, you can attach videos, photos, documents, or any other file and send it to the person sitting anywhere in the world. It only takes a few seconds for that person to receive your mail.
We are living in times when people often need to travel to overseas countries and are away from their homes and loved ones for longer periods. Because of their professional commitments, it’s not easy to come back to their home country. This is where ‘video-chat’ helps, and you are able to talk to your family members, and friends. It is almost like meeting them in person as while chatting you can also see their facial expressions and reactions. It’s true you cannot physically touch them but you can look into their eyes and know what they are thinking.
The internet and social media have decreased distances, and converted the entire world into one single community where people can talk to the person they wish. We are all leading busy lives, and one thing that is most precious is time. The Internet has proved hugely beneficial in saving time. That is why people in general have accepted and adopted the internet and social media in a big way.
In the last few years, both its importance and popularity have increased many times. Today, you will hardly find a government, or a private organization in the world that has not been computerized. They all operate and function in one way or other with the help of the Internet.
Evolution of Media in India
Since ancient times, different methods have been adopted for exchanging information among people. During Mughal era, the king’s messages were usually carried through a messenger to another state or city. According to the legend of Ramayana, Hanuman was sent to Ravana, the king of Lanka as a messenger. In ancient times, pigeons were also used as messengers to convey important messages. There were different methods through which people could convey their messages from one place to another.
However, the means of communication has changed over the ages. New things were invented that made communication easier. One such major invention took place in 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell of Scotland came up with the idea of the telephone. It was a revolutionary discovery that changed the way people communicated. As time progressed, there were many more inventions that monumentally changed the quality of life.
Birth of social media
In the modern era, technology played a huge role. People became familiar with the use of computers, and mobile phones. It completely changed the way people worked in offices or connected with each other. People had different mediums at their disposal to help them in their day to day work. Suddenly, a new platform called ‘Social Media’ was born in the early years of the new millennium, and by the year 2014, it became a force to reckon with. Now, social media has become the first choice of people when it comes to making connections. It’s the best form of people’s own voice. They can raise their voice on any issue, and that too without any help from a newspaper, radio, or TV channel. You have become master of your own destiny.
You may be wondering why social media came into existence when we already had too many platforms to do the job. Have traditional media sources become redundant and inefficient that led to the birth of social media? There are so many questions that come to mind. Actually, print and electronic media need to do some self-introspection because their impartiality and independence have been repeatedly questioned.
Maybe, the failure of traditional media to deliver goods resulted in the birth of social media. Media houses were often accused of the ‘paid-news’. Many television channels are known for suppressing news after taking money from those involved in scams or corruption cases. Social media was a much needed platform that virtually came into existence to prevent democracy from being hijacked.