The Social Media Trap

    Today we are going to talk about a  topic - very commonly acknowledged, talked by almost everyone, known by every rational mind but easily ignored, the social media trap. Although everybody talks about it, also ironically on the very social media platforms, it is very easily ignored. Additionally, and this can be an isolated observation, everybody seems to be talking only about the problem or what is bad, what you should be doing, but no one tells "why".

    So in the following part of the blog, we will mainly focus on the hidden side of the topic that no one talks about.

1. Tons of Influencers

• There are multiple POVs to look at social media influencers. The common people look at them from a different point of view, they are part of the job for the Digital Marketers, and they hold a different kind of importance for the business owners.
• What important to know is - how are they being used to sell a narrative, an agenda or a product is alarming.
• Human in general collects most of the information by visual means, and there comes the reels and shorts by the influencers. Good looking, high aura influencers create an unimaginable impact on a viewer's mind, sometimes affecting their overall perception on a topic or influencing the decision.
• No doubt, an influencer as a term in itself means they should be able to influence people. But in recent times it seems like there's no upper limit or a defined set of rules for the influencers as to till what extent they can go to sell their agenda or narrative or product.

2. Question of Authenticity

• In relevance with the points discussed in point number 1, comes to the question of authenticity. There's no way a view can authenticate the information that comes in front of them on the social media.
• The question of authenticity becomes even more prominent when we hear about paid campaigns, paid influencers and actors, PR teams being used to run a particular narrative.
• What important for us to do is - check the background of the post - if there is an influencer or speaker involved, where they have worked before? Are they really eligible or authorized to say what they are saying? If they are giving a general information, do not hesitate to Google, you will find relevant information for sure.

3. Burst of Information via Reels/Shorts

• There is this whole new era of information sharing where the conventional modes like news bulletins, documentaries, newspapers, editorials are being replaced by short 30 second video clips called as reels or shorts.
• Because it is small and fast and takes just 30 seconds to watch, also as previously mentioned human by nature collects most of the information via visuals, it is widely being consumed by viewers of all age groups.
• Now many of you will say, what is wrong with that? this is how we are getting latest news and information. While that seems a fair point, you have to keep in mind how the conventional sources of information worked. 
• For example, a news article is at least a 1000 words, a background, a brief information on the incident and a possible future course. While the reel on the other hand just give you the "information" and without a brief background and a future course, there is no way viewer can figure out authenticity.

4. Post COVID Rise of Social Media Usage

• In the COVID 19 lockdowns, there've been notable changes across the information sharing platforms. 
• People were at home, internet became cheaper in India, everybody started using smartphones by then. The emptiness of having to sit at home and do nothing, driven people to explore new means of entertainment and pass time. 
• Eventually this has lead to flood of creators on the social media platforms and since there are so many people to view such content, they got promoted as well. If you Google, you will find many stories of the influencers rising after the lockdown.
• There are a few who look at the social media to stay updated with the latest news and things, but it is too little of an information gained at the cost of too much of ads and influencings on you as a viewer.

5. How Marketing World Uses Social Media?

• Gone are the days of door to door in person marketing, the marketing now happens digitally.
• The digital marketers are widely using social media platforms, just you know, the consumers are divided into groups as per their spending capacity. You will see the ads and content based on your spending capacity. 
• Modern day slavery comes in when to avoid ads you have to go for a paid subscription of the platform. So unless you have the capacity to pay for the subscription, you will be forced to see ads, and spend your valuable time doing nothing.
• And scrolling in general is the habit of poor, the rich are more focused and away from the distractions. If you've fallen pray to this trap, you are already being exploited.

6. Steps to Save Yourself from this Trap and Be Disciplined

• Screen Time Control: Many of us would agree that - it all starts with just one reel before bed and end up spending hours scrolling. To counter this, use your screen time control feature on your phone. For example - I have set Instagram app limited to 30 minutes a day, with occasional free usage over the weekend.
• Monetize Your Time: Remember Time is Money. The social media entities get paid for the views, on the other hand you spend your valuable time watching ads and irrelevant content. Think of it this way - If I earn 100 rupees/hour at work, the number of hours I spend scrolling on social media, is the amount of money I am paying to the platform. Those who are studying or schools/colleges, the cost per hour is even higher than the working professionals.
• Change Sources of Information: Replace the bad habits with the good ones. Limit your screen time to replace it with conventional methods of information. Read newspapers - they usually serve you information one day later, also it is in the writing, hence they don't put anything unless it is 100% authentic. Watch news and documentaries.(although that's a different debate, but watch authentic source news). Read Editorials of various newspapers, these are usually written by experts of the topic, hence no better source of information.

7. If You Must Use - Follow These Common Safety Protocols

• Make sure all social media accounts have two factor authentication active in order to counter hacking attempts. For the matter of fact, all digital accounts has to be under two factor authentication. You will find the the option easily under Profile and Security.
• Use Authenticator Apps, that's my personal opinion, but using an authenticator app like Microsoft Authenticator will ensure a double layer of security to your social media account.
• To protect your information, make sure you do not let unrecognized people follow you. Because it's not just another follower you've added to your account, but it is a person you are letting see your own photos, videos, your family photos, your travel plans and what not. I personal have this rule of keeping the account private and letting in only those who I have met at least once in my life.

    The more you write on this topic, the lesser it feels as the internet world changes dynamically every day and one always have to keep improvising with it. But nevertheless the ground rules are basic and applies in all circumstances. Do let me know your thoughts in the comments and feel free to Connect with me on LinkedIn if you have any valuable standpoint. Thank you for reading and stay safe out there.