Quest: ‘Social media has brought the world closer’

To me the answer is yes. For the majority of teens, the overall impact of  social media has been positive. It makes our life easier and much more efficient. It has become an essential part of our communication culture that cannot be taken away easily, because we are very much taken away easily, because we are very much dependent on it. Without social media we wouldn’t be able to connect with people the way we do now.

There is no doubt that this helps increase your friends circle, interaction with people but their interaction with family members, focus towards studies has come down drastically.
Strongly I feel that usage of social media is not wrong but the way it is used is my concern. So folks, wake up and use technology as a boon and not a bane.
Muskan S Jain, Class X, St Aloysius High School, Nalasopara

Great question!! Is social media a boon or a bane? According to me it is both. We get a lot of information needed by us. In addition, we can also communicate with people in far off places. Even if we inquire something we get the expected answers or the unknown ones. It is equally important to pay attention towards what are we surfing through. It is very risky if we go on wrong sites in incorrect age. Besides it will be difficult for us to get out of this sinful habit. We should over utilize it. Then it will be like fish out of water for us to get back on the same routine. I agree that we get fascinating things and unknown facts. In short I would like to portray it in a manner that it is a boon for those in their limits and bane for those out of their limits.
ShrawaniPagar, Class VII, RBK School [IGCSE]

According to me yes, it is. Nowadays social media plays an important role. Now the majority of households have at least one computer and/or smart phone device. In such a way people find it easy to stay in touch with their family. As internet provides many free online services, we can connect to our dear ones at all times which will reduce the expenditure of call rates. So, many people find it better to use this social media. As a result our friend circle increases. In other words, social media is the biggest gift to mankind. Because of this the interaction between family members becomes daily. Social media is different from any other media in many ways including quality, reach, frequency, durability. In short we can say it is the best platform to share views, opinions and thoughts.
Arjun Khanna, Class VII,  RBK School, IGCSE

I think social media is a curse because my opinion is that it can give bad impression on our family and anybody else. The way to make this true is by conducting press conferences, protesting, uploading unacceptable photographs, latest updates etc. The social media is destroying our country and life because it shares information about our country and the citizens of the country which can lead to disharmony, tension, and problems between the people. So we should not use social media for bad things. My opinion is to use it for good purpose like to increase your knowledge, find relevant information, entertainment etc. You should use social media for good betterment and not for bad betterment.
Reet Kaur, Class VI, Ryan Global School, Andheri

Social media have always tried to create an opinion among the crowd. They give a run to the democratic form of society. Moreover it is like refreshment in this monotonous life of the modern world. Today, the pillars of our nation are plagued by the brutal claws of corruption. And the social media is the key to condemn corruption and to exile these ubiquitous jackals that pepper our endurance. Social media and their network is like a propped up gun that can create frenzy in the minds of these creatures worth not more than the beast found in the veld. Many think that social media should be banned, but in my opinion they have an err. Actually the one that is closely adapted to social media runs the gamut of life.
Rudra Chogale, Class IX, St Joseph’s High School, New Panvel

When we talk about social media the very first thing that comes to our mind is Facebook or Twitter but, social media is very broader than that. Social media has brought this grand world closer. Through social media we can have level and opportunity to interact with others.
But in some or the other way our society is also being affected by social media. Privacy and the security of the people get humiliated.
As everything has pros and cons in the same way social media too has its hazards and opportunities it depends on us how we see it!
Siddhesh S. Mishra, Class VII, St Francis High School, Vasai

Human life is improved and relaxed due to internet. But it also does consist of some wrong stuff. Everything has virtues and vices. But at the end it depends upon us what we want. Sometimes internet helps us to stay connected and sometimes it connects us to wrong people. I feel a few sites of internet really do need banning, but most of them are something we really need. To avoid wrong happenings to children the age security of many sites should be increased. I really do appreciate the facilities provided. Techno-savvy is a need or necessity but must not become a way of decaying ethical values, must be towards progress-not disgrace.
Simran Singh, Class IX, St Joseph’s High School, New Panvel

A lot of information that is shared on websites is useful for many people.  Many organisations are able to conduct survey through social networking sites. One can express his/her thought through ‘posts’ and ‘comments’. Also social media is the best stage where one can showcase his/her talent, and be supported by ‘shares’ and ‘likes’. Some unseen conditions can be given a voice through social media. Actually, these benefits of social media define it as the ‘voice box of people’. One can connect with his/her old friends, relatives, co-workers, fans, classmates, etc. Also there are experts of a particular field on social media which can be helpful for those seeking help. Companies can advertise their products through social media.

Then comes the cases where users hurt the feeling of people, commit crimes and leak confidential information with the use of social media. Still, social media cannot be blamed as the bad intentions and moral of a person are the reasons for the crimes. So, one should use it instead of misusing and overrunning it.
Vaishnavi Singh, CLass X , St. Aloysius High School, Nalasopara

Social media was introduced so that there could be development of people and the country, so that transactions between countries could be carried out, so that the world could be brought closer. But there are its disadvantages too. Due to social networks, number of crimes have increased considerably. There has been a tremendous rise in the illegal activities carried out by firms. They swindle people by numerous ways. Hacking, robbery, frauds are some things very common nowadays through social networking sites.  If you ask me, I can’t say whether social media is a boon or bane as I, myself, too am very closely related to social media like any other teenager or youngster but I surely would like to say that anything in proportion is a boon and a thing used beyond it is a bane.
Vedhika Nayak, Class X, St. Lawrence High School, Borivali (W)

What is social media? A social media is a networking site, through which we can connect people & get information of them in all over the country, infact all over the world. I think that in future we could have started connecting people in all over the universe. Social media consists of Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Twitter and many more sites, nowadays social media is used by everyone, it is very much useful to using transferring data, letters etc through mail and has shrunk distances, but harmful for children, you might be thinking how its harmful ?

Nowadays most of the time children & the old are chatting & have no interest in family, outdoor games. people are addicted to such networking sites which was the case before.
Yanna Niraj Singh, Class VII, St Lawrence High School, Borivali (W)

Social media is social interaction of worldwide people. By social media we can put forth our views. This is a modern technology through which we can easily converse with the world. In some ways social media is a boon for the world. Through social media we can get information on whatever is going in and around the world. Modes of social media are Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Instagram, WhatsApp, Wechat, Line, Hike, Viber, Yahoo and many more. Through social media we can express our thoughts in political matters very easily. Social media also allows the users to connect to different people around the world also the near and dear ones. Social media also allows us to send messages, audio, videos, mails and many more things. So considering all these things, according to me, social media is definitely a boon for the modern world.
Zainab Magar, Class VII, St Francis High School, Vasai

In today’s time everyone is connected to social media. For example Facebook , Twitter, Skype and many more. People spend lots of time interacting over these social applications. This act of theirs affects their academics, work atmosphere and decreases productivity. Basically social media is that through which we can gain information about what’s happening around the world. It provides proper news and facts. But sometimes there is false information which creates rumors and tension around the world. The disadvantage of the social media is cyber bullying, hacking accounts, viewing people’s personal details. There are people who watch explicit content and gives bad influence to the person’s ability. Social media is helpful to communicate with the family and friends. Social media is very good.
Zubin Siddique, Class VIII, Ryan Global School, Andheri