In my previous post, Lets Stop Pouring Water, I questioned the impact of Facebook in social movements. We saw abundance of messages requests and status updated in SNS (social networking sites). It died out as fast it started. Now can hardly see any such activities on these sites. I must say that FB can certainly be the fastest medium to unite large number of people across geography, BUT the faith and need should come from within or from suffering. There was no FB during national movement for independence, there wasn’t even telephones, but the momentum was huge. Let’s try to analyses the reasons behind it.
Something comes easily goes easily: the momentum was not deep rooted, majority of the people who were supporting the cause actually are seldom a victim of corruption, nepotism and red-tapism. Had they been a sufferer of any of these they would have stick to it. It was euphoria which majority felt and clicked the buttons. I cannot see any follow up.
Impact of health, wealth and ego: One need not have to suffer to protest, but to do so one has to be visionary and educated enough to realize the impact, direct or indirect, on health, wealth and our ego. Another way is to read and hear more from visionary leaders, this will also educate us. i guess we lack in this also.
Herd Mentality: Last week, I had been audience to this play "12 angry men" by Reginald Rose, in that the Jury’s opinion differed when voted in open ballot and in closed ballot. Same way any SNS is like an open ballot count, where people bound to follow the herd mentality. So we all did what is expected from a sincere citizens.
Non herd mentality: Herd or not, we are alike, this has been proven by many postulates of Behavioral Economics and Game Theory that we Indians choose easy way. majority choose to support by click.
Face Value: We take thing on face value, how many of us truly try to analyze the lokpal bill, we believed the bulleted points circulated in mails and links. To be honest how many of us were knowing exactly why anna was on fast. Was he fasting to get the bill passed or he was on satyagragh so that right set of people can come on board the committee who are finalizing the bill.
Conclusion: SNS's are enabler and not reformer, it helps us in achieving what we desire, but for that our desire has be strong.
Reason why anything "seemingly" right gets so much traction on internet is "You either have to be part of the popular culture or be outcast'
ReplyDelete@Vishal: i was wondering how temporal this popularity was. vanished in less than a week.
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