Social responsibility is the silver lining to create a newer India
The authors envision an India where every citizen is treated with dignity and opine that this can be accomplished by being social responsible and harnessing social media to build a more just and equitable society.
India has been witnessing massive development with the shift in time, but there still seems to be a lot of pressing concerns being prevalent in the country. The need of the hour is for us to not only address those concerns but actually establish accountability and work proactively on resolving them. Issues such as lack of education, injustice, bias based on caste and gender are a few concerns that require immediate action which is only possible if we, as citizens, realise the concept of social responsibility.
Building a culture of responsible living
Instilling social responsibility will not only bring in accountability in citizens but also unite the country against prejudices and real issues, fighting for the same cause while eventually moving towards collective growth.
But since the world was hit by a virus outbreak and is still in the midst of the pandemic, the medium of bringing a change had to be specific and not in-person.
With the current generation being all "woke" and all the others taking to the internet to live the new normal, being socially responsible to bring a social change is only possible with the help of social media platforms.
According to a report put together by Youth Online Learning Opportunities (YOLO), Institute of Governance, Policies and Politics (IGPP), Social Media Matters showed how most of the people are shifting their base online, which includes 85% of non-adults as well. Most of the youth, nearly 70% of them prefer Instagram as their social media outlet to express themselves, followed by 20% of the population opting for Facebook as their first choice and Twitter with 5% of the crowd embracing it as their premium choice.
Laying the foundation of social responsibility via social media
One would only be able to encourage people to be socially responsible and utilise the full potential of social media if the platform served as a safe space for everyone, which apparently is becoming a matter of grave concern.
According to the latest report by the National Commission for Women (NCW), the harassment against women in context of cybercrime and cyberbullying has increased significantly amidst the lockdown, post-outbreak.
The report further stated how 54 cybercrime complaints were received online in April in comparison to 37 complaints received online and by post in March, and 21 complaints in February. The experts also commented about the 'caged criminals' going after women online by harassing them on social media portals.
Aligning with the communities
Social responsibility is a concept which most of the people might not pay specific attention to, but regardless of that, it is the path to a better future as until and unless we, as a society, collectively take responsibility for our activities and our way of living, we would not be able to change them.
Communities weren’t made to wield power but for everyone to feel accepted, appreciated along with having equal opportunities and in an ideal world that would be true. However, we are far from that scenario because of not making the concept of social responsibility a priority.
The role of social responsibility
There are a lot of issues coming forth including fake news making its way to people and triggering communities to lock horns amongst each other, creating misunderstanding and driving propaganda, and as sensible and supportive citizens envisioning the growth of the country, it is our responsibility to be selective with the content we consume, believe in and disseminate further.
It is imperative that we understand how false content could have serious consequences and repercussions, cause damage to the beliefs and harmony among people. Eliminating hate mongering and introducing a new perspective to broaden our thought process and succeed as a country, it is crucial for us to hold ourselves socially responsible. This is the only path that would lead to a newer India which is free of prejudices, injustice, hate and toxic social constructs as well as practices.
Minimising fake news, holding online harassers responsible, creating a space where people can be themselves without any fear or judgement is what the nation needs to redefine itself as a nation that stands united and encourages social responsibility to create a better tomorrow.
Building a place to thrive
We need to create a space where anyone and everyone can not only feel safe but also express without the fear of being judged along with putting out issues of substance.
One of the ways to go about is by making social media a tool of change. It can create ripples of change where it forms a virtuous cycle of positivity and gives voice to those being treated unfairly to bring about a change.
Steered by social responsibility, safe social media portals are the path to a new India, which will be even more progressive and will further enable the youth to empower itself and support, represent and grow the country in ways like never before.
A newer and a better India would be a nation where one does not have to think twice about being themselves, voicing their opinions, creating a wave that leads to a change where people regardless of their background feel loved and accepted for their diversity.
Making a society that encompasses all this and more will happen if we start considering social responsibility a personal goal and work towards achieving it purposefully. Standing together and united, we can all bring a change and start with stirring the virtual platforms to initiate digital revolution which will then pan out across the country and revamp the nation into a place where all of us can thrive together.
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)
