Widening The Spectrum of Comprehension
“Comprehension is the key to seeing things with a brighter perspective. Often do we end up looking at only the darker side of things, completely side-lining and ignoring the good that lies in the practice and use of certain things. Whereas, in reality, the rationality lies in assessing both— the pros and the cons— involved in the practice and use of certain modern-day things and applications!”
Comprehension of new ideas is an important aspect of the modern day life, especially due to the rapid change in the social system! You will hear a number of people preaching you to try to comprehend the good and the bad involved in certain activities that you indulge in on daily basis. But, is it not important to have a clear idea about what “Comprehension” really means if we are to actually adopt its practice.
And so the question arises “What is meant by ‘Comprehension?’”
‘Comprehension’, in simple words, means ‘the ability to understand’.
However, most of you will argue that you do understand each and everything and, therefore, are probably already practising comprehension of things as they really are. But are you? Comprehending things not only involves the understanding of superficial aspects about the central matter, but also requires looking far and beyond what lays behind the superficial front of things in question. It requires a deep and detailed analysis of all the pros and cons of the matter at hand! And it is only when you do this that you become the real practitioners of Rational Comprehension!
One such sensitive issue today that quintessentially requires a widened spectrum and deep sense of comprehension is “Social Media”.
Living in the 21st century, being one of the many things that have gradually but effectively become an inseparable part of our life, Social Media has become an integral part of our social system. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Whatsapp... the list is long! And let’s admit, all of us have an account on one or two or even all of these social media platforms, and, why not? Social Media has helped us maintain an active social life, connecting all our near and dear ones to us through one medium or another despite our hectic schedules and hustle-bustle of 21st-century life.
However, not everyone in our society seems to comprehend and realise the true essence and value of Social Media. Or if they do, they believe in utilising the social media platforms to share all that they wish to but, like true hypocrites, discriminate and shame others for doing the same, part of which is due to their narrow-minded approach and wish to control the actions of others, especially women and part of which is due to their feelings of insecurity and jealousy towards others and the lifestyle that they have and present on social media platforms. These narrow-minded people, thus, make Social Media appear like an evil platform of interaction. But is that so? Certainly not! Social Media is a spectacular platform for interaction that connects us to people from all over the world by eliminating the geographical and social distances. But to bask in its full glory we need to widen the spectrum of comprehension of the utility of And, so, it is necessary for this hypocritical-social-media-discriminating-sect of society that requires widening the spectrum of their comprehension about the utilisation of social media.
What is Social Media
The term "Social Media" is not foreign to any of us. We all know about it, understand its meaning and use it like all our daily essentials.
The term "Social Media" is a conjugation of two words "Social" which means "an informal gathering of people who are related or acquainted with each other, often to promote camaraderie and cordial relations among people", and, "Media" which means "a means by which something is communicated or expressed." These terms when coined together form the term "Social Media" which means "a means or medium by which social interaction among people is promoted in the form of communication and expression over a virtual platform."
Social Media, today, has gained gargantuan degree of relevance in the life of millennials. Right from the moment they wake up to the time they are lying in their beds at night ready to sleep, millennials spend an average of about 4 to 5 hours on various social media applicationsto keep in touch with all their near and dear ones, to get a live update on the happenings in and around the world and to share their thoughts, ideas and special moments with people who matter.
And so, it would not be wrong to say that the meaning of Social Media goes far and beyond its literal meaning, as it involves and encapsulates the emotions, feelings and experiences of those who are its active users!
All That Is Good About Social Media
A major factor of modern-day-lifestyle is that in we are incredibly caught up with our desire to excel which requires us to dedicate ourselves completely to our goals. Our desire to excel is indeed great, for, it ensures our individual growth as well as the growth of the society as everyone tries their level best to excel in their endeavours that, in one way or the other, contribute to the progress of society as a whole! However, the only impediment it involves is that it leaves no time at all for us to move between our circles of family and friends as often as our forefathers probably did! Cramped up in cabinets and offices in their respective work institutions- lost in a world of files and folders— most of the people spend a major part of their day working—which is , though, a good thing— drains all their time and energy, leaving them with neither energy nor time to engage in other essential lifestyle activities like regular socialising. It is only on special occasions and events that we find almost ample amount of time to interact with our kith and kins, thus, reducing regular socialising to the occasional socialising.
And this is where Social Media comes into play by keeping us contacted, even if it’s only in a virtual form, to all that who matter to us.
Where did the boss have dinner yesterday night? Where did the next door neighbour went for a vacation? What outfit did the friend you last met in senior year of college wear for her brother’s wedding?
And so many other trivial but social questions are answered by the social media on a daily basis that, not only helps us stay virtually connected to each other but also gives us a firm ground for conversing when we meet someone after ages, thus, deflecting the situation of awkward silences in a social gathering!
What more? Ah yes! The geographical distances! Have you ever wondered how do you still love your cousin who you probably met, let’s say, 10 years back because she lives in the other part of the world that makes it really difficult for you to meet as often as you wish to? Say thanks to social media, for, it has helped curb the geographical distances, virtually but effectively, so much so, that you often end up talking to your cousin in Canada more than you talk to the cousin who lives barely 100 Kms apart!
Other than that, it has helped people find their passion— like painting, writing, singing and dancing— by giving them a platform to make their creative work reach a larger audience!
It also helps people, every now and then, to find help in various situations of need by simply making a post for help on their social media platforms.
Furthermore, Social Media has now become an important medium to raise awareness about all that is happening around the world. Not to mention, that social media,, today, presents a far more true picture than the news channels most of the times because the news on social media comes directly from the people who are either the central figure of the news or the witnesses to it and from some third or fourth source slash news channels that crook the news to spice it up to increase the TRP of their respective channels.
Politically, it has given the people a firm voice to protest against all that they feel is wrong in the social or political system by using their words(as I am doing now) or by posting videos and pictures of and about all that aggravates them about our social and political system.
All That Is Not Good About Social Media
All the things that come in our lives, come neither as hollow concepts nor in only-pros-and-no-cons form. Everything we use in our life comes as a solid package deal— each with a different set of pros and cons. And it is only fair, that as we accept its all guns blazing the good about the things that we use, we also keep the heart to unabashedly accept all that is wrong about those things.
And, so, while we just talked about the good that we already knew exists in the active use of social media, as did our dear hypocrites in their hearts, it is only justified that we also talk about the “bads” involved in the usage of social media.
Social media, as we discussed, gives us some intimate details about the lives of others we are connected over various social media platforms. And while that is a good thing, since it keeps us up-to-date about all that our near and dear ones are doing, it often leads to arousal of dissatisfaction, insecurity and jealousy with a few others who are supposedly “better-off” than a few others as deciphered, apparently, from their social media profiles.
Seeing the post of a person, who someone particularly inconsequential thought would never reach a generous level of affluence, dining in a five-star restaurant or enjoying a beach vacation in Thailand or Hawaii, exudes a sense of jealousy in the heart and mind of that inconsequential individual. This often leads to those unimportant beings passing dark jealous remarks that finally serve as a source of rift between certain families and friends.
Secondly, there have been noted instances, and a large number of them at that, where based on the intimate information carelessly exposed by the users of social media, criminals— like robbers, thieves and murderers— have planned and committed a well-executed crime.
Furthermore, as revealed in a large number of instances, offenders and criminals have misused the photos of victims and morphed them or used them to sexually harass and blackmail them.
Also, it has been recorded that a notable number of times that people post false, illegitimate and impolite stuff that tends to, most of the times, even hurt the sentiments of other people or of those who are directly or indirectly targeted.
And last but not the least, Social Media and the content one posts on it gives the discriminators delicious material to relish the taste of bad-mouthing and spreading rumours or accusing someone of something that they might not even have intended to do in the first place. What is more annoying about this disadvantage is that, in most of the cases, it is the girls who are targeted and caught in the thick-knit web of social-media discrimination woven by the misogynist evil creatures of the society.
The Social Media Discrimination
Everyone faces one form of discrimination or the other in their lives at some point. Discrimination is done in various forms— like gender discrimination, sexual discrimination, body-type discrimination, etc.— and various styles— verbally, through gestures or actions and a few more!
A new form of discrimination, that is rapidly gaining intensity in practice, is Social Media Discrimination, whereby, a person or group of people discriminate and shame some other person based on his or her Social Media Life— images, words and posts!
All of you, my dear readers, especially girls, would verify that, indeed, this form of discrimination is spreading like an epidemic in our society.
Have you ever been pointed out by some relative of yours for the kind of pictures you upload on your social media? Have your parents ever told you to do whatever you want to, that is considered too “modern” or too “urban” according to the comprehension standards of some of your relatives, but never post pictures of it on social media because they fear you or your innocent act of posting something you and your family consider normal, unlike the narrow-minded elements of the society, will be called out in family gatherings by some not-so-civil-and-well-mannered narrow-minded relative of yours? Have you ever heard someone tell you that someone else passed not-so-flattering-comments about your social media profile behind your back? Have you ever had to delete a post from your social media account because some inconsequential relative or family acquaintance of yours made you feel too bad or inferior about having posted it? And, girls, have you ever been accused of trying to lure random men on Facebook or Instagram based on your "looks" from the pictures you upload on these social media platforms?
I know the answer! Most of you said “YES” after every question I asked above. And it is justified, considering we live in a world full of Male chauvinists.
The misogynists of the society have a deep-seated tendency to rule over the so-called “weak fairer sex” in every way they can! And social media has, seemingly, given them just another way to do so... By telling the girls what to post and what not on their social media profiles, thus, exercising control over the content they are “allowed” to post, the misogynists claim to, apparently, “protect” the girls from the “harmful” society but are, infact, portraying a harmful social side by trying to cut the wings of a bird who has the right to fly in whichever way it plans to, like all the other birds. They,thus, forcefully assert Patriarchal Control.
The narrow-minded-women-controlling male chauvinists believe that use of social media would corrupt “their women”. A photograph of a girl or woman they are even remotely related to wearing shorts or a crop-top or a one-piece dress or red lipstick throws these people, who have grave problem "exposing" or introducing "their women" even with uncovered heads in front of people, into a fit of rage, for, they feel the control slipping from their hands. A girl posting thoughts on the supposed sensitive topics like sexual liberation, sexual liberation, gender inequality, domestic violence, etc using strong and rather bold words and language agitates and aggravate the parochial we-believe-women-are-the-property-of-men kind of people, for, when they cannot stand the women of their family speak their mind in person, publicly, how on Earth can they stand women speaking bold language, that they misbelieve to be reserved only for the men, on social media platforms. They, thus, try to preach the girls they know all about "what and what not to post on social-media since they belong to the womankind", totally ignoring the fact that those girls do not just belong to the womankind but also to the humankind. They try to verbally abuse or accuse them of behaving like girls-who-want-to-seek-undue-attention-of-boys, if they do the "mistake" of posting one of their photos in a good pose and in-fashion clothes!
The Social Media discriminators, however, are the people who are good enough to point the apparent “wrongdoings” of others on social media, without realising that they or their loved ones are probably doing the same or worse on social media themselves. They neither realise the hypocrisy involved in their act nor do they have the courage to call upon the nuisance their loved ones are probably spreading on social media. Ironic, but that, my friends, is the harsh reality!
Another and more grave harsh reality is that this social media discrimination is the new and more serious cause of depression, trauma and suicidal tendencies of the young generation— girls and boys!
The Need for Widening The Spectrum of Comprehension
The evil of Social Discrimination is spreading partly due to the illogical insecurities and jealousies of people. But part of it is because a certain narrow-minded section of the society does not want to, deliberately, understand the utility of the great platform of Social Media when used by those they feel not "worthy" of using it— precisely, WOMEN!
But what can possibly be done to make these narrow-minded misogynists understand the advantages of Social Media for all the sections of society— men and women, equally— when they have problem dealing with women walking around in shorts, crop-tops, figuring hugging dresses and bold shades of lip colour or speaking their mind out loud while sitting in the company of men, among many other things.
Well, the thing that could probably be done is that these people should be pushed so hard towards seeing the light and understanding that women too have their own feelings that they want to express and social media gives them that platform! It is essential to make these people understand that men and women are all individuals, alike, and they all hold the right to express and share whatever they want to on social media as long as it is not meant to violate or shame someone who does not deserve such atrocious public display of discrimination!
I, in no way, say that these social media platforms should be used without any sense of safeguarding one’s security! But is it so hard to comprehend that all those who are sensible and knowledgable enough to use social media are also sensible enough to figure out what is good or bad, safe or unsafe for them. They are in all ways well-equipped with knowledge and sense of safeguarding their own selves and in no way require inconsequential people, who are remotely related to them, to preach them lessons of security and safety!
The truth is that these blinkered people feign to care about the "safety" and "security" of those to whom they preach these unnecessary lessons. All that they mean to do is to exercise control in the most unrighteous manner over the content that some girls they know post every now and then on social media. And I truly believe that these petty-minded masses should quit giving security as an excuse to exercise patriarchal control.
I concur that girls do receive Messages on messenger and DMs on Instagram that are inappropriate and sometimes in the most vulgar form ever! I agree that some Male human specimens take great interest in approaching girls on these social media platforms for all the wrong reasons. But, the close-minded lot need not worry! Girls, unlike what they believe, are neither insane nor dumb enough to go around chatting any random guy that approach that.
To think that a girl, who wears shorts or who talks or uses a bold language on the social media platform/s that she uses, would behave like a strumpet and start chatting with just any guy is wrong! To think that a girl is trying to provoke and seduce men by posting pictures of themselves is wrong and most definitely a proof of the narrow-mindedness of the parochial section of the society.
And this is is exactly what needs to be changed! Widening the spectrum of comprehension to see the light and comprehend rationally all the aspects of social media, it's use and the psychology of those who are using it is essential in all the worldly sense.
Women like other individuals, including the hypocritical discriminators, hold the right to decipher what is good or bad for them make decisions for themselves, and to post whatever they want to, for, no girl or individual is insane to do something that would put not just her but her family and friends' life under jeopardy.
The misogynists need to widen their spectrum of comprehension and realise that all the individuals— irrespective of their gender— hold the right to use social media for their own benefit without having to reason or justify it with someone.
The discriminated, too, need to widen the spectrum of their comprehension and realise that line between care and sadistic patriarchal control is extremely thin and,therefore, they need to comprehend the difference between these two worldly different concepts separated by a thing string of difference. Let the people say what they want to but pay no heed to their meaningless words. You are an individual of your own and no one, except your family, has the right to snatch your right as an individual to post whatever photos you wish to, whatever thoughts you want to and in whatever language you that you like. As long as it does not hurt you or those who you care about or some other faultless soul, you are good to go and you do not need to base your actions based on the words, judgements and opinions of the inconsequential parochial misogynists who try to control you.
Concluding The Article I Say,
Let there be air of deeper understanding. Let there be light of widened spectrum of comprehension. It is time for the discriminators to back off and quit judging and controlling the way other people are using social media. It is time for discriminated to hold their own narrative, to stand up tall and tell the discriminators that they, in no way, hold the right to dictate their actions or words on social media or real life! WE ARE FREE TO LIVE LIFE ON THE COICES OF OUR OWN AND WITHOUT THE FEAR OF JUDGEMENT OF OTHERS BASED ON THE LITTLE KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE ABOUT OUR REAL SELVES!