Tag: Social Media Influencers

जोखिम भरे रील बनाने वालों को सोशल मीडिया से बैन कर देना चाहिए

‘Risky Reel Creators Must Be Banned From Social Media, Put In A Rehab Centre’

By LokMarg

Manish Tripathi, an Advocate in the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, says the content creators who put their own and others’ lives at risk must not go unpunished. His views:

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc are full of stupid and dangerous short videos, popularly called as reels, these days. If you watch such content, you will soon realise that these video clips are not only a reflection of our social degeneration but also a safety hazard for the creator and the public at large.

Recently, I watched one such reel where two motorcycle-borne youths at a crowded section tossed away currency notes in the air. In another one, I saw a young girl driving her car in reverse gear at such a speed that she ultimately fell off a cliff and lost her life. While the first one was a safety hazard or a crime, the latter was a downright suicidal act. Why are these young people putting their and others lives at risk? What for? Cheap publicity? Or just for more followers and ‘likes’? Or are they monetizing these visuals?

Though some of the foolish acts performed in the reels can be and have been checked by various arms of the laws, a majority of such performances goes unchecked. In legal terms, if some persons are obstructing movement on roads – by performing stunts on a vehicle or driving in a dangerous way – they can be booked under sections of the Motor Vehicle Act. There are also various punitive section in the new BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) for disturbing social and public harmony, inciting enmity, causing threat to public life, spreading rumors, etc., under which such people can be brought to book. However, by and large our law enforcing agencies are reluctant to act against such acts, either due to their immense work load or just because of sheer negligence.

ALSO READ: ‘Reel Culture Has Spread Like Virus, Infecting Young Minds’

What I strongly suggest is that the government, besides passing strict prohibitory laws to control social media and internet usage, should also focus on bringing these activities under control – with the existing provisions in the laws and some additional strict steps like sending the culprits to detention centers/rehabs. For, most of these content creators are so obsessed by their acts that it has taken the proportion of an addiction, where they have a compulsive urge to better their previous content without thinking about the risk involved.

The government agencies and parents groups must sit together to create a mechanism wherein such life-threatening acts can be discouraged or punished. Besides, these preventive and punitive actions, there should be a well-orchestrated media campaign (involving print, electronic and social media) to create awareness against performing such acts. Also the arrests and punishments for such content creators should be publicized to deter others from following such a course.

There should also be proper large notice-boards around spots where most such acts are filmed (such as bridges, high-rises, cliffs, religious places) to caution people against performing such activities, along with the fine and punishments for the law-breakers. Though some governments (states and central) are doing exemplary work to check this menace, they should go a step further and also take initiative to block such users from the social media platforms.

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

As told to Rajat Rai

Reel Culture Has Spread Like A Virus

‘Reel Culture Has Spread Like A Virus, Infected Young Minds’

By LokMarg

Himanshu Kumar, a student of BR Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence, Delhi, feels pained when he sees youth stooping lower and lower in their craze for making reels. His views

I would like to share my views about the morbid craze of making reels, or shorts, which has currently gripped the entire nation. These reels are basically short-duration video clips, showcasing any activity with just one goal – draw more and more viewers. Some reels depict dangerous stunts, others third-rate, bawdy humour or an absurd activity that can catch eyeballs. This disease has now taken the form of an epidemic – infecting every nook and corner of the country.

As far as I can recall, this craze began in 2016, when a Chinese app called Tik Tok emerged on Indian social media scene. By 2018, it became the most downloaded app in the US. By 2022, it was the most downloaded app in the entire world.

Tik Tok took over India’s ‘youth mind-set’ in 2017. Many people get attracted by the so-called ‘creative’ videos on it. But it did not take long for some highly disturbing videos to emerge on the app too. These videos could range from vulgar acts, to a degrading depiction of reality. The dark irony is that people started liking these clips!

Earlier, it was meant only for entertainment purposes. Soon, crass nudity, perverse shows, masochistic, sexist and mindless violence etc, took over the reels, attracting those who are hooked on the most perverse dimensions of life. This crude content then spread into people’s mobile phones like forest fire!

ALSO READ: ‘Reelmakers Compromise With Safety And Scruples’

Amid India-China tensions, Tik Tok was banned in the country. However, plenty of new apps arrived like Moj, Mx takatak, Josh etc to fill in the shoes. Popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram also hosted and encouraged these reels to increase their userbase.

There can be many reasons why certain people like these videos, especially youngsters. A curious teenager can be attracted by the ‘bold’ content created by the opposite gender. Some may get cheap thrills by stunts while others may find these acts humorous. There are instances where these videos could be downright perverse porn clips, mostly objectifying women. The creators only seem to be chasing the frivolous pleasure of ‘likes’ and ‘followers’.

Of course, there are others, talented and sensitive creators, who are making educational and informative videos. Some of these accounts are deeply committed to the idea of making the world a better place. They are also interested in the creative dimensions of our social and aesthetic reality. They often share quotes from books, clips from meaningful cinema etc. However, such content is more often gets trolled by the non-serious viewers. If this is not the first step towards the destruction of the mind, then, what is?

The point is that all this adds to an aggressive, sexist and macho mindset. Unfortunately, this can lead to anything! We often read reports how an influencer lost his or her life to this craze for making reels. It is this degeneration of mind that leads to rising criminal incidents, including rape and murders, in our society.

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

As told to Amit Sengupta

Social Media Influencers

‘Social Media Influencers Will Soon Dominate Political Campaigning’

By LokMarg

Atul Kushwaha, an influencer based in Lucknow, feels the role of social media in political campaigns will continue to rise with each passing election. His views:

There are more than 800 million internet users in India and the use of YouTube and Instagram in the country is the highest in the world. This has forced all the political parties to integrate social media and influences in their election strategies. This fact was best publicized a few months back when none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited and interacted with the top influencers at National Creator Awards.

Clearly, the Prime Minister understands the power and popularity of these content generators among young voters of the country. Today, most political leaders are eager to give podcast interviews to these individual influencers because of their reach. Social media platforms are increasingly dominating the public debates.

Probably Mr Modi was one of the first political leaders to understand their importance. Remember in 2023, he met Haryana’s social media fitness sensation Ankit Baiyanpuria and encouraged him to participate in the Shramdaan campaign Swachhta hi Seva. The Prime Minister also shared a video of him in one of his X posts that included tips about physical fitness and wellbeing.

Thanks to the Internet penetrating into the remotest parts of India through mobile phone data, these influencers can boast of a better connect with the masses than a political leader sitting in New Delhi. Social media has not only revolutionized the way political campaigns are conducted but it has become an integral part of electioneering, allowing political parties to connect with voters on a more personal and direct level. This clearly reflects the evolving and increasing role of influencers with each passing election. In future, their role will only rise farther.

ALSO READ: ‘Elon Musk Poses A Big Threat To Mainstream Media’

Social media influencers not only contribute to the promotion of political parties or ideologies but also shape public opinion at election time. Besides relying on the age-old method of door-to-door campaigning, political parties are now shifting ample focus on influencers as they have the art of reaching out and influencing people in subtle ways.

They know the pulse of their viewers and followers as they get immediate feedback on their contents in the form of ‘likes’, ‘Thumbs-Ups’ or comments. On the basis of such feedback, they tailor their content and forms of communication. Their informal conversations can make an idea go viral from cities to towns to villages. And their numbers and reach are in instant public domain, unlike the viewership ratings of mainstream media. Social media influencers have emerged as one of the most effective mediums in creating buzz on political issues or candidates and even altering the mindset of potential voters.

Another important point is their neutrality. While mainstream media is seen as partisan towards the ruling party of the day, the influencers carry their preferences on their sleeves. That is what has driven many opposition parties towards individual content generators and their channels. Here, the fight is out in the open not shrouded behind the veil of ‘fearless journalism’. And I can safely predict, looking at the current scenario, that these influencers would soon become the most trusted and valued foot soldiers of all political parties.

As told to Rajat Rai

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

BJP Has A Force of Social Media Influencers

‘BJP Has a Self-Motivated Force of Influencers With Patriotic Vision’

By LokMarg

Dr Chandra Mohan, state secretary, Uttar Pradesh BJP, says his party was the first to realise the power of social media and influencers for political campaigning. His views.

Not many years ago, door to door connection with the people, largescale political rallies and other such interactions were the only way to connect with the people and the voters. That has changed. Indians are now getting widely engaged on social media platform. With 516.92 million active uses in Instagram and 492.70 million users in Facebook, besides other, here is an opportunity to connect directly with the voters.

It was the BJP which first tapped and explored the vast opportunities (in social media) to reach out to the masses during the 2014 general elections. Social media played a vital role in the historic win of the party then and ever since PM Narendra Modi and the party machinery have been exploring and ‘exploiting’ new means of communication to remain connected with the polity.

We recognize the power of social media influencers and YouTubers who have significant audience reach.The party now has a dedicated team for the purpose and we keep organizing regular workshops to train our cadre in social media application and communication tools. This cadre act, in a way, as influencers to educate people about our patriotic ideology and vision.

This tribe of influencers, who belong to all age groups, have thousands and lakhs of followers on various platform like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc and they act as a silent workforce for us with one thing in common – dedication for the cause of Viksit Bharat, a developed and shining India.

ALSO READ: Rising Misuse of Deep Fakes Is Cause Of Concern

Besides, social media offers numerous ways like content posting, live interactions, direct messaging, etc to engage with the target audience. If you have to remain relevant, you will need to adopt it and regularly keep updated with emerging trends. For example, our party keeps using WhatsApp to send tailored messages to communicate with the people because more than 500 million people in India use WhatsApp as a mode of communication. And it requires little investment as the messaging app is free of cost.

While all other political groups, big or small, use social media platforms for interaction, the BJP can validly boast of boarding the train on time and that is why we are running ahead of others. Leave behind a district or the urban or the rural masses (that were considered to be the target audience or voters a couple of decades ago), we have our foot soldiers in every gali-mohalla (nook and corner).

Our chain of supporters stays in touch with the central command through social media and keeps getting regular updates about our policy initiatives. In addition, we have small groups on all social media platforms at the grassroots levels dedicated to disseminate and circulate any kind of information with the flash of an eye.

As told to Rajat Rai