Government Needs to Control Social Media not Mass Media

Social media was created to be a positive outlet. A platform for people to express themselves. It has now become an avenue of negativity. If any celebrity, athlete or political party sends out a tweet that the public doesn’t agree with, they can be taken down with a viciously overwhelming injection of cyberbullying. If you don’t have thick skin, you can easily change who you are and what you stand for, for fear of being criticised by your followers.
During the mid-2000s social media has had a surge in popularity. It completely changed the way we communicate and share information with one another. In Pakistan it has been the force for many changes including a recent change in Pakistan called a NAYA PAKISTAN.
Ideally, the media serve several essential roles in a democratic society. Their primary purpose is to inform the public, providing citizens with the information needed to make thoughtful decisions about leadership and policy. The media act as watchdogs checking government actions. They set the agenda for public discussion of issues, and provide a forum for political expression. They also facilitate community building by helping people to find common causes, identify civic groups, and work toward solutions to societal problems.
Mass media is a diverse set of technologies that aim to reach a very large audience. The most common mistake is to confuse the media sector and mass media. The major difference between mass media and social media is this; the mass media puts the audience in a passive position. Social media puts the audience at the center. People are both the audience and the content creator, it provides a unique experience of social collaboration and social interaction.
These days in Pakistan, especially after the taking over of New Government by Pakistan Tehreeke Insaaf PTI, the government is trying their level best to control the Mass Media which mainly includes Electronic & Print Media. Unfortunately, apart from using social & digital media affectively as opposition party in maligning the Government, PTI also used Electronic & Print Media with heavy investments for winning the Election 2018.
The Government needs to understand that Electronic Media & Print Media is a visible enemy or a force & can be altered or controlled accordingly if they go beyond the agreed limitations. On the other hand, Social & Digital Media is invisible cannot be controlled or altered as these days both social & digital media are operated by BOTS as compare to humans in Mass Media.
Social bots simulate human users on social networks. They can also serve political purposes, since they influence public discussions by representing the views of certain parties or politicians. To discredit a political opponent, social bots often spread information that isn’t true. It is therefore hardly surprising that this technology is often discussed in conjunction with emotive words such as ‘fake news’ & ‘hate speech. This type of bot is often used to spread opinions on social networks or to stimulate discussion in the interest of their operators. BOTS are not human they don’t have families as compare to thousands of humans working in developing content for Electronic & Print Media & are visible within the reach of Law Makers.
The past century was dominated by mass media, it became the voice of individuals and organisations. This is why the mass media is also known as mainstream media. It produces content based on what majority wants to see and hear. The mass media was considered as the most effective tool for political propaganda, especially in times of war in order to get more support from the public but under the control of Authority by the Federal Government. Electronic, Print, Radio & Out of Home Media are also the source of income for thousands of employees working in technical, production, content writers, anchors, camera man, lighting, satellite engineers, set designers, labor & executives who works day & night to produce final product for millions of viewers.