Tik Tok in India: An Analysis of Ban and Reprieve

Published by Counter Currents Online Portal

Website Link: https://countercurrents.org/2019/04/29/tik-tok-in-india-an-analysis-of-ban-and-reprieve-ishfaq-majid/

Tik Tok a Social Media app was launched in September 2017 in China and is owned by a company namely ByteDance. In August, 2018, the app merged with the musical.ly to enhance its video community. The app is available for Android and IOS users (except India) and enables them to create a short video containing music in the background. The video is of 3-15 seconds long and can be edited with respected to its music, filters and speed before it can be shared on the various Social Media platforms. The app got much popularity among the youth as using this app is very much interesting. The interface is built in such a way that no one can get bored while accessing the app. The one of the most feature which made it popular among teens is the lipsyncing. In lipsyncing the user move his lips silently in synchronization with a pre-recorded soundtrack.

The videos made on Tik Tok are created only just for having fun. The users have to bare no additional cost in creating the videos rather the users have to spend their mobile data only. The app gives an opportunity to common masses to become popular on social media platforms. It also provides a chance to those people who did not get a chance to perform in professional shows. Tik Tok is the most downloaded app on the Apple App store by reaching 45.8 million downloads in the first quarter 2018. If we combine the downloads of the Apple App Store and Google Play, Tik Tok is the 6^th most downloaded app in the world in the first quarter of 2018 (Influencer Marketing Hub online portal). The popularity of this app in India is very much high as Tik Tok is having 260 Million users in India. According to Sensor Tower, the number of users is equal to people who use the Facebook app in India. The app is also considered as the most entertaining app of the year 2018.

The youth is India are much interested in this app. Rather spending their time on some productive works, they are getting diverted to the social media apps. The time that should be given in reading books or doing some useful work is being spent on the app. It is believed that it is attracting non-social media users as well who are the first users of the social media sites.  The content posted on the app is harming our culture to a great extent. There are various complaints of Sexual harassment and pornography content coming out from the app as well.

Citing these reasons the Madras high Court banned the Tik Tok app in India. Soon after the court order the app went off from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. However on 24^th April, the Madras High Court lifted the interim ban on the app but the app is still missing from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Now the question arises here is that whether banning of the app was good or not. Well regarding the pornography content and the sexual harassment, it might have been good to restrict the use of the app in India. But when we talk about the addiction towards the app, it is better to say that the app interface was built in such a way that youth is becoming addicted to it. The matter of concern here is addiction that is not at all the fault of any app. We can say that the app builders are very much professional and experienced that they designed the app in such a way that it attracted the attention of the common masses.  It might be the lack of care taken by the parents that their wards are getting addicted to it. Parents at least need to take extra care regarding the usage of the app by their wards.

The ban on the app is lifted now but what about the problems and issues that will be arising in front of us. But the good point coming out of the ban is that the company has pointed out that it will makes sure that users adhere to community guidelines and stay within the regulations while uploading content to the platform. The company has told that they will be employing technology to flag objectionable content since July of 2018 and even argued that only 0.0006 per cent of its content is pornographic in nature and the company is working to get it removed from its platform. Still it is our concern to use the app in a good sense that doesn’t violate the privacy of anyone. Using any social media app is not bad at all but the use should be restricted to a certain time period and that usage should not hamper our other activities.

Social Media Awareness: Are We Lacking Behind?

Published by: South Asia Journal
Republished by: Web 2.0 News Today

With the start of the first social networking site “Six Degrees” in 1997, the internet got the attention of the users. Though it was an era of Web 1.0 where one-way communication model was followed. The users accessing social networking sites were able to post their ideas and thoughts but were not able to get any kind of feedback from their friends. With the gradual increase in the usage of Social Networking Sites, these websites started to upgrade their websites to a newer version.  And now in the era of Web 2.0, these websites are capable of gaining much attention from the general public. The user base of these websites is increasing now as these websites have introduced more new features on their websites. But the awareness among the general public is a matter of concern. We are living in such an era where every social media user considers himself as “Social Media Expert”. A blog developer considers himself as “Professional Blogger and Freelancer”. Though these people are less knowledgable about the meaning of these terms still these terms can be seen on the profile section of every social media user.

The social media users have changed the shape of popular social media websites like Facebook. Though there are various social media websites like Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. still Facebook is the only social media website which has received much popularity among the people. This is because the website has introduced a lot of new features which its users consider beneficial for themselves.

Social Media websites have become a place for uploading horrifying content, the content which is baseless and which is giving sleepless nights to people. Though there are many beneficial ways to use these websites but the way people are utilizing it is a matter of great concern. Anywhere in the world, if any person is committing any sin, the people are recording it and uploading it on these websites. Though these people are aware of the future results still they are uploading it just to increase their member base on their Facebook pages. The religion teaches us to hide the sins instead of highlighting them but still, we are very much desperate to share the content for the sake of enjoyment. Some Facebook pages are even using anti religion posts which helps them a lot in increasing the member base of the page.

Social media has become a powerful tool for spreading the information and that too in a quick way. Because Facebook and Twitter timelines move so quickly, viewers don’t often verify what they have seen. A great deal of content is also spread through images and memes, which may or may not be based on valid information. Of course, many memes are created to be funny, cute or outrageous. Others, however, are intended to influence our thinking. Even links to real articles can be misleading. It’s safe to say that most people who see a headline and link never read the whole article.

It’s really the widespread sharing of fake stories that causes harm on social media. If you’re a person who shares alot of content, perhaps with the aid of social media software, you should be extra careful. It only takes a minute or two to verify something you see on social media. Consider the source of the story. If you’ve never heard of it, Google it and see if it’s reputable. If you don’t have that much time, it’s best to ignore it, especially if it has the appearance of something that could be satire, clickbait or propaganda. By not sharing questionable material you can help to cut down on the proliferation of misinformation and fake news.

Recently in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, one social media user uploaded the naked content of a girl. In response, the girl ended her life. Social Media users need to rethink their roles. They need to look for those opportunities which are going to help the society instead of the destruction. The users need to focus on the positive aspect of these websites. These websites are carrying a bunch of benefits and we need to utilize them. Here the author is of the opinion that the awareness is most important that can play a major role. Before sharing anything on social media, it is our moral duty to understand its possible results. We should never become a problem for any other person. The content that is valuable needs to be shared on social media. If anyone is doing any wrong activity, let us guide him. Let us avoid recording and uploading the content on Social Media. By doing this we can make the Social Media free from this kind of content. Let us make the Social Networking more enjoyable and let others also enjoy.

The Article Was Published by South Asia Journal in their Commentary Section.

Article Link: http://southasiajournal.net/social-media-awareness-are-we-lacking-behind%EF%BB%BF/