The Social Media Paradox: Opportunities And Challenges In Kashmir

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
Representational Photo

By Zaid Malik

Social media has transformed the methods by which individuals in Kashmir communicate, obtain information, and voice their views. Since Internet access is available to more than 30% of the population, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp have become core to daily life.

According to a recent survey, 70% of internet users in Kashmir are active on social media platforms, with the majority being between the ages of 18 and 35. This demographic phenomenon is important because it shows that the population of young people in Kashmir is the engine driving the social media wave.

However, there are some alarming trends associated with high-level usage of social media in Kashmiri society. There is increasing worry that individuals, and especially adolescents, spend excessive amounts of time engaging with social media and are disconnecting with family and friends. It is not unusual to see people coming home from friends' and their, maybe, families out of loneliness and heading straight to their phones, changing the clock on their hearts to the clock on their phone.

For instance, students are increasingly being targeted by the addictive properties of social media, resulting in a heavy drop in academic concentration. Yet, it seems that all the students are spending more time on social media than on their studies now, and the performance has been deteriorating.

Additionally, the excessive use of social media has also led to a spiritual detachment in the case of Kashmiris. There are those who spend a greater proportion of time on social media than practicing religious acts of worship, prayer, and reading the Holy Quran. All this has resulted in a decline of the religious values and the sense of alienation from Allah and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Moreover, as an expressive medium and tool of cultural survival, social media has proven to be a powerful tool for Kashmir. Adolescents are using the network, Instagram, and YouTube to share the natural beauty of the region, to describe their cultural existences, and to refute stereotypes.

On the other hand, social media has also become a source of misinformation and propaganda in Kashmir. Hoaxes and rumors spread rapidly across services like WhatsApp and Twitter and generally fuel social conflict and mistrust between groups.

To help address these challenges, authors cite the need in developing digital literacy, strengthening control over content, and ensuring fair and moral social media use. Parents, educators, and community leaders must, on the other hand, step up and proactively steer children toward responsible social media use.

In conclusion, while social media presents numerous opportunities for Kashmir, its negative consequences cannot be ignored. Due to our Kashmiri identity, we need to recognize the risks of social media overuse and aim for a healthy balance between enjoying the technological advantages and defending spiritual values, cultural heritage, and social ties.

With it, we are able to let it do good and avoid oppression. And all in all, social media stands as a whole lot of avenues for Kashmir, yet its negative outcome cannot be shunned. Thus, being in the Kashmiri identity, our risks over social media are to be looked at and get a healthy share of enjoyment while enjoying technological virtues and defending other spiritual values, cultural heritage, and all social ties intact. Doing so, we can make sure social media is a force for good, not oppression.

• The author is a Kashmir-based writer and independent journalist

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