• February 7, 2012
• New Media
• Web Desk

Sir: Social media is a social instrument of communication in today’s world. Our social networks have a deeper effect on our lives than almost anything else. It makes sense. Nowadays all across the world, major political decisions are taking place due to social media influence. The Egyptian revolution, fall of the Gaddafi regime and uprisings in other parts of the Arab world are some common examples. In the past, the economy was the most discussed issue in the social media but trends have changed and politics is now the highlight of the social media all over the world, including Pakistan. On December 25, 2011, around 30,000 PTI workers watched PTI’s Karachi rally on the internet. It is the timeliness of social media that has made it a major source of information.

People all over the world have a platform where they can voice their opinions on every political incident that takes place. Political campaigns, live interviews of political leaders, information on political mandates, etc, is just a click away. Internet communities, blogs, networking sites have become an important part of life today; we can say it is the new face of the youth. Social media has been a great platform for cyber fanatics to share their ideas, brainstorm and create open source applications. Consumers have been more than ready to test technologies whose beta versions are introduced for testing and post their feedbacks. It has opened new career options for people, computer literacy has increased and life has become much easier. The impact of social media is everywhere. You can create, collaborate, entertain, get entertained, review a product, discuss a movie, gossip with friends, etc — the possibilities are endless. The government is taking initiatives to promote social media as a tool of awareness and to utilise it as an effective tool to convey the desired messages. Thus, it is important to make people more aware about it.

SHUAIB AHMED WADHO
Islamabad

Source: Daily Times