Pratim Kalita
(pratimk37@gmail.com)
The advent of the internet has revolutionised the flow of information. Undoubtedly, as compared to the known traditional media, digitalization has changed the way people observe. The use of social media for worthwhile purposes and its significance are sensed by all. Elucidation of this fact would be a needless process. How the smallest, relevant, irrelevant, necessary, and unnecessary moments get viral within a few seconds is known to all. Reaching the voice of a commoner to the political representative was not less than a herculean task a few years ago. It is the social media platform that has minimised the gap between common people and political leaders. Traditional Diplomacy with decorum and formality has been replaced by Twitter diplomacy, or Digital Diplomacy. Probably, it will not be rejected if someone opines that social media is the mirror of the real world. Considering its colossal importance and tremendous potential in the political sphere, political parties and leaders never like to miss the use of this endless field of two-way digital communication.
To have a social media cell in every political organisation to carry their ideology to the common people in an orderly manner is quite relevant. To be honest, the individuals who supervise the cells are not less than opinion makers. Most of the time, under the supervision of some studious well-wishers, all political strategies are spread through social media. In reality, for the successful completion of the ideological war, these well-wishers play the role of front-line warriors.
Regarding the mentioned remark, the front-liners attack their archrivals with their strongest weapons of words; at the same time, they also protect their own organisation as the strongest sentinel. In return, many times they are christened with various neglected nicknames by the opposition. To spread the sweet fragments of party policies and their probable positive consequences, these opinionmakers never fail to load their social media accounts with seductive contents. Many times, they get mentally broken by the unwanted verbal abuse, yet they continue to pursue the strength to retaliate again. It has also been observed that in certain conditions, among these warriors, many of them mortgaged their self-esteem for the sake of party interest and never hesitated to accept the deadliest weapon of word exchange, while at the same time striking back with the same enthusiasm.
In such cases, what role should be played by the political leaders? Should they feel free after installing high dreams in the hearts of highly energetic young social media workers? Obviously not. They too have responsibilities regarding this point. There is no point in doubting the eloquence of the leaders; they seem to have theoretical answers to every question (although mostly filled with ridiculousness). There are a few politicians in Assam who have already shown mastery in this regard. It is good to do proper homework before speaking publicly about some social issues. The leaders should feel the insidious effects of their words. It is because, after a controversial statement goes viral, only its own social media influencers have to take the utmost responsibility to rescue it. It is easier to inform and, at the same time, not very hard to manipulate the contents. Sometimes they succeed, and other times they fail to cheat the people again. There are many examples that have proven the fact that a well-settled government has to face dilapidation due to some controversial statements by its party leaders.
Someone rightly said, “Politics is not a dirty game, but many politicians play it dirty.” As we all know, the general election of 2024 is approaching, and apparently verbal admonitions among the politicians will increase. Intentional or well-calculated controversial statements will be very common. Pseudo-intellectuals will emerge within a few nights. News about their political speeches will cover most of the front pages of the Newspapers. Argumentative talks will become the hottest topic of the evening primetime shows. Not only these, but addas at the marketplace, office, and religious gatherings will be griping about such a topic. Particularly, it becomes very difficult for politicians to escape from the jaws of ideologically influenced IT cells. Their ridiculous criticism and humorous exposition through witty techniques create an ultra-high level of interest for the netizens. At the same time, the Janata Janardan follow the same go with the flow strategy and unknowingly prepare themselves to be cheated once again.
The justifiable veracity is that nowadays social media plays the most important role in the reform or formation of a society. Most politicians are very active on social media. Doubtlessly, they try to educate or entertain the people on various issues. It is worth mentioning that the regularly uploaded explanation of the verses of the Bhagavat Geeta from the social media account of the Honourable Chief Minister of Assam is praiseworthy. It transmits positive energy among the followers. But the fact that there are existing anti-social elements or dark chapters on social media is not to be ignored. Since social media is self-regulated, freedom will obviously be greater. That’s probably why the garbage on social media is increasing day by day. Political polarisation on social media platforms is nothing new. Speeches on value politics by the leaders are very risible; some of them may shout the loudest about their acceptability, but it is crystal clear that most of them are election-oriented. It’s good to hear, but totally impractical. A point to be noted is that even after primitive humans learned to stand on their own two feet, it took them thousands of years to use their latent intelligence successfully. This means that the present human society, well equipped with advanced scientific thinking, is not the result of one or two days of hard work. It is the result of billions of years of trial and error. Hence, all social media users, especially politically influenced activists, must use it responsibly. Social media workers should also understand the hypocrisy of political leaders. Spreading fake propaganda or creating fake accounts to harm someone purposefully should be avoided. At least by doing this, one can prove himself or herself to be responsible. Just to satisfy some targeted viewers or get the special attention of high-profile holders, social media workers should not practise the theory of buttering. The fact should also not be avoided that bypass politicians’ durability is always questionable. To be honest, it deteriorates the specifications of the activist. On the other hand, having the quality of establishing right or wrong ethically would surely help a person become closer to the common people.