Essays: August 2022 Current Affairs - UPSC PDF Download

Less social, More media

Socialization is the lifetime process of acquiring and disseminating norms, conventions, and ideas. The use of social media has now become so important for the new generation that it has become an addiction that is difficult to recognize, so in this contrast, the older generation feels a sense of satisfaction and contentment at having been born in an era when something other than technology defined the social and recreational lives of the children of that time. We are attempting to become more socialized through media, yet the media is expanding, and individuals are essentially being trapped within a room. The younger generation is entirely relied on social media. Social media is basically the primary source of getting information in the present scenario while in the 90’s newspapers were the primary source of information. Reading the newspaper is a habit that our parents have instilled in us. The primary source of reliable news was regarded as newspapers and television news. Doordarshan was the most famous and reliable TV channel in the 90’s, compared to the 24-hour news networks of today, which lack any meaningful content and are occupied with playing outside in the real world. Social media is basically an outcome of technological advancements.

Every technological advancement brings advantages along with disappointments. It is on the awareness of the users how advantages can be maximized, and disadvantages minimized. 90’s is the time when there was no Internet and single-screen theaters were common. So, circumstances at that point were not conducive for the growth of social media. Rotary landline phones were found in every home feature, phones were considered a luxury, and our identity was determined by what we did in the real world. The 90’s generation often feel an awkward generation gap with younger generations. Social media created a virtual word which runs parallel to the real word. In contrast if we talk about socialization then there are two kinds of socialization that exist the one is real socialization and other is the virtual socialization. Technological innovation brought with itself the heat of change. A person who is able to adopt the stream of change will survive and advanced in future.
We molded ourself with change in time and time advanced with technology. We also adapted to ourself with changing technology and evolving social media life. Simple landline advanced in to cellular phones and it gives way to multimedia phones which ultimately culminated in to proliferation of smart phones. The origin of smart phones has given way to social media advancement.

Impact of social media we can observe in every sphere of life. Social media is used by the people for popularity. Ministers, Bureaucrats and several higher ranked government officials are proactively using social sites and social media to popularize their works and trying to establish themself as highly efficient professionals who are working more efficiently as an administrator to resolve the suffering of others. While the main purpose of using social media to popularize himself as an efficient administrator because it will be beneficial for them as per future is concern.

Billions of people are now creating and sharing massive amounts of data with one another. This gives people a sense of being associated instead of feeling lonely. When you consider developing a social media strategy for your company, the following platforms are likely to spring to mind: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube etc.

“You are what you share”  _ Charles Leadbeater

Civil services aspirants who lost their last UPSC attempt due to Covid-19 pandemic protested for extra UPSC attempts. They asserted that they would put pressure on the government for fulfillment of their demands. For this purpose, they started a campaign for extra UPSC attempts through several social media platforms such as Facebook and twitter. Social media is working as the people’s voice. It makes people's voices loud and clear.

Social media is the most promising medium in human history from the Stone Age to the Metal Age is currently in the Digital age. Mass mobilization to the spread of false news is highly influenced by the news available on social media. In a few cases, the situation deteriorated, which ultimately culminated in the loss of life.

In response to a recent exchange of aggressive religious social media remarks, two people beheaded a 40-year-old man in broad daylight at his tailoring store in a market in Rajasthan's Udaipur city. This incidence basically reveals that human beings are becoming inhuman day by day and have no guilt of being involved in anti-social activity.

Social media usage, on the other hand, can have a detrimental impact on youngsters by distracting them, interrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, inaccurate views of other people's lives, and peer pressure.
The views on social media held by peoples of 90’s and the younger generations are different. The younger generation see them as a way of life; however, people from the 90’s simply view them as a way to switch things up and meet with close friends sometimes. Social media has a big impact on people's everyday lives, self-esteem, daily activities, and even, to a considerable extent, job decisions. Younger generations' brains have been influenced by social media in such a manner that being successful YouTubers, Tik-Tokers, and Instagram influencers seems to be the aspiration of many of them. They take satisfaction in choosing to become these because of their cheap popularity and quick recognition.

A few years back an online game known as "Blue Whale challenge" which was basically a 50-day online "suicide game" for kids. The challenge was alleged to have resulted in a number of deaths throughout the world.
Social media is basically promoting socialization but in the closed room. People are feeling that they bring social revolution through societal change by proactively working on social media. Hard reality is entirely different from reality exit on social media platforms. Revolution needs ground work which is not possible only through social media. Any social media campaign will only be fruitful till it is not backed up by the groundwork. The new generation does not want to take the pain of groundwork because it needs real effort.

The use of social media more than certain limits invites social media addiction. Addiction of anything compelled individuals for self-harm. So now the time has come to take a break and introspect on the hours which we used to spend on social media. A break from social media is required for relaxation and introspection. We should take a break from social media, and try to feel and understand how people live their lives when there were no social media platforms. We should try to comprehend how time flies when there are no social media platforms. People back then were far more mentally stable and didn't experience the irritation that social media is known for nowadays. People were dealing with real practical challenges because they were mentally more stable and healthier. We should give up being creative for a few hours or even a day to detox since we have many other great ways to keep ourself engaged outside of the workplace. If social media is cut off from their lives, even for a short while, youngsters and adults in their twenties could experience anxiety. It is a characteristic of being addicted to social media.

On evening walks, we regularly see young men and women dancing and using a camera mounted on a tripod stand to record short videos to upload to Facebook or Instagram. We suppose it is reasonable for us to limit ourself to one or two social media networks in order to save time, which we can then commit to improving our health or performing other creative work that will benefit us. Almost eight to ten hours a day are typically spent on smartphones by most individuals. Most people use their smartphones for nearly eight to 10 hours a day.

Millennials are drawn to sign up for any new or well-liked social networking platform. This is because they frequently use the virtual world to incorrectly define their real-world personalities, resulting in them living in an illusory reality. Someone younger than us has opened their eyes in an era of social media, cellphones, and multiplexes, and their vision of the world, identity, and opinions have been significantly influenced by it, resulting in views that are dramatically different from those of someone 10 years older than them. The new generation is proactively socializing to themselves through social media rather than real physical socialization. They know a lot of information about the events happening in the entire world but they are not aware of the suffering of their neighbors.

Your perception of me is a Reflection of You; My Reaction to You is an Awareness of Me

Swami Vivekananda said Awareness is a simple act of acknowledging the reality as it is.”
Any person's perception is an assumption they make about other people on their own. A variety of elements influence how perception develops. These elements could be internal or external. The way you think, your experiences in life, how people treat you, etc. Preconceived ideas or any other form of self-conceived notions might be part of perception. Perception is often believed, as an organized experience of the sensory information received by our five senses. We frequently make connections between what we see, hear, and touch and our current experiences, which calls for reflection and the understanding of our inner sentiments, needs, and thoughts and viewpoints. As a result, perception connects our inner and outer worlds. Every sensory input we get is processed by our own system of previous worldly encounters.

Your inner environment and personality will influence how you view me, or how you form an opinion of myself. The fact that perception is universal means it is cosmopolitan. Although the practice can disrupt many different types of relationships and situations, people often ascribe it to the need to shield oneself against painful inner turmoil and discomfort. These impressions gradually and persistently try to instill themselves into our experience, rigidifying our perspective of the outside world. Look at you for a moment right now. Who lives with you, whose photos are on display? How about the workplace? What are their responses to you and how do you respond to each of them? Would you agree that when we interact with someone, we are actually just seeing ourselves and our life reflected in their mirror? We encounter this problem on a daily basis. It is an inside struggle that shows up as an external conflict, an internal deadlock manifests as a physical impasse and a practical challenge.

My reaction to you is an awareness of me because my awareness produces a huge impact on my actions. Since my consciousness has a significant influence on my behaviors that is why my response to you is an awareness of myself. Nothing remarkable is necessary for us to become aware; all it takes is conscious practice. A reflection of your character is how other people see you and treat you. Your response to people depends on your awareness of yourself. We all spend a lot of time attempting to change our personalities, ideals, and ways of living in order to fit in with others and not worry about how they will see us.

One of the biggest misconceptions of our time is what other people think of you. We cannot focus all the time on issues like what others think about us. What people think is entirely should not be the concern of us. Life is full of challenges and challenges can be countered only with a calm and composed mind. Having troubles about what people think should not allow our mind to be stabilized. We should be conscious only of those things which are in our hands, not of the things which are in other’s hands. If our state of mind is influenced by people's measurable kinds of perceptions, then it is our weakness. We should strengthen our mind in such a way that not any kind of outer circumstances destabilize our peace and calmness of mind. People's perception of me is their own creation not of mine so I should not care about the perception of others. If I am right and my way of life is appropriate, then I have to work just on our way and people's perception will change with the changes in time.

It would be helpful to keep in mind that each individual has a unique tale to share if you want to be able to immediately presume good will. My words and deeds speak volumes about the kind of person I am and aspire to be. What other people think of me and how they see me is of no relevance to me because I have no control over it.
The capacity to observe oneself precisely and objectively via contemplation and introspection is known as self-awareness. According to the self-awareness theory, you are not your ideas; rather, you are the object that is witnessing your thoughts. You are the thinker, different from your thoughts.

Consider that I am sad and that we are both gazing at a painting of a sunset. What do I, personally, interpret the picture to mean? My interpretation of the image, which is probably far less pleasant than yours, is relevant. It's likely that the artwork will come off as cheap and unattractive. Or, to put it another way, even if we are both staring at the identical sight, I'm sure to see it totally differently from you. Our feelings, ideas, and mental state all play a part in it. The way I see the image in my case is being influenced by my anger. The way you view the picture in your circumstances may also be influenced by your optimistic outlook.

How we feel affects how we see the world and other people. Even the most beautiful sunset cannot seem great to someone who thinks life is hard. When you label someone as being self-centered, it's probable that you're just a little bit selfish. Conversely, when you have a positive opinion of someone, it's usually because you feel confident in yourself. To put it another way, your opinions about someone are a reflection of who you are. They represent the sentiments and thoughts you have for yourself.

People's preconceptions, comprehension, and knowledge about my personality may define my personality for them, yet this assumption does not really represent who I am. I shouldn't be concerned because I have no control over these things. I should work on controlling my emotions and actions in reaction to how others see me. In terms of ethics and moral ideals, I should act in a way that is justifiable. I should act with openness, and my attitude should be inclusive. Wisdom of self-knowledge is the victorious aspect of the fight that humanity fought inside themselves. In these conditions, the voice of consciousness should be obeyed since only it can guide a human in these chaotic circumstances.

According to Lord Krishna, if uncontrolled desires are not subdued, they have the potential to destroy all of the intelligence, knowledge, and skills that a person has long since acquired. In addition, there will be a greater likelihood that the person will commit sins and wrong deeds in order to obtain immediate gratification and pleasure.

As we all know, Gita's philosophy is well recognized for its magnificent realities and life logic, which are well respected across the world. We must transform ourselves from inside. Revolution should always come from inside. We should practice self-control like a monk. Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta teaches us to control our senses if we want to be victorious in the Mahabharata of inner self. According to Lord Krishna, the foregoing scriptures indicate that cravings are the most difficult opponents of intellectual beings who have goals to attain. Desires may be anything that causes an individual to want and seek sudden gratification, causes an unstable mind, and diverts individuals from their primary goals of self-control.

Serenity of mind, good-heartedness, silence, self-control, purity of nature, these together are called mental austerity. — Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta

The New Emerging Women-Power: Ground Realities

“I believe that the rights of women and girls are the unfinished business of the 21st century.” – Hillary Clinton

Gender issues and ‘women-empowerment’ has become the new buzzword across the globe in the last few decades. The increased familiarity with this term has resulted in the slow transformation of most of the ideologies that have justified inequalities in the social structures for the past so many years. The emerging debates that surround the concept of ‘empowerment’ have had considerable effects on the well-established roots of the institutions that provide support to the existing power structures such as family, state etc. Women have started to become aware of the limitations and confines of the territories within which they have been placed all these years. They have demanded control over their own bodies, equal spaces in the social institutions and an acknowledgment for their identity. Last few years have witnessed a sharp increase in the strategies of women’s development by the state in order to eliminate the gender gaps in the work opportunities, political participation, health facilities and distribution of resources.

India as a nation has taken significant steps to fill the gender gaps existing in the societies here. The constitution of India provides equality of employment opportunity, voting rights and equal pay for equal work. It lays great emphasis on the dignity of women and constitutes several pro-visions like maternity reliefs to maintain a gender-sensitive environment at the workplace. Government schemes like ‘Beti bachao-Beti padhao’, ‘janani suraksha’, intend to ensure the better health care and education facilities. Policies like ‘New National Policy for Women’ endeavour to follow the ‘so-cially inclusive rights-based approach’ for the women empowerment. Apart from this, the introduction of Gender Budget Statement promises a just distribution of resources in the country across gender divisions as well.

The past decade has also experienced an expansion of the definitions of terms like ‘rape’ and ‘violence’ in the legal context. Law has enlarged its frame in order to bring the exploitation of women in private and public sphere through the formulations of laws like Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005’ and ‘Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013’. Institutions like the National Commission for Women have been formed to identify and register the cases of oppression faced by women. Ministry of Women and Child Development is specifically dedicated to addressing the issues, policies and their implementations related to the women and children in the country.

India has observed immense changes in its socio-political and economic conditions by the introduction of these measures as well as under the impact of globalization and technological advancements. Census 2001-2011 has recorded a significant rise in the literacy rate of women. The expansion of the service sector has generated fresh work opportunities for women. To a large extent, equality in the wages and participating roles among the women and men can be seen in the urban areas. It is in these areas that the phenomenon of ‘emerging women power’ is being most acutely observed.

Women are dominating the key positions in many fields that were earlier denied to them. The emergence of women to the strategic positions in the social structures has given way to a relatively better understanding and identification of the oppressive practices. However, these transformations seem to be insignificant when compared to the number of issues that continue to degenerate the conditions of women in the society. Also, new challenges have emerged that impede the holistic development of women.

Crime against women has been on the rampant rise in the country along with the growth in the number of career-oriented women in the professional space. Cyber crimes such as sexual harassment and molestation of women through the internet and mobile devices have gone up along with the technological development in the country. As the nation basks in the various scientific and economic achievements, half of its population writhes under the fear of rape, trafficking, domestic violence, honour killing, acid attacks, and sexual harassments. Child marriage, dowry demands, and female infanticide remain a harsh reality even after the strict attempts of their prohibition through the law. These practices are the major reasons behind the skewed sex ratio in the society.

While the country congratulates itself on the achieving the Millennium Development Goal of gender parity at the primary school level, it has done little to overcome the high dropout rates of female students. As the country boasts of women holding the significant chairs in governance like Head of the state, Speaker of Lok Sabha, eminent ministries and top-notch places in the corporate sectors and strategic positions in other arenas of productivity, a large number of women are struggling for their livelihoods as migrant labourers and low paid workers in the informal sector. According to a recently released Monster Salary Index, there exists a gender pay gap of 27% in the country. The overlapping of gender issues with several other issues like caste and poverty worsens the plight of women belonging to these categories. Women workforce in the rural areas that is more exposed to these tribulations comparatively experiences larger pay gaps. India records a High Maternal Mortality Rate and a large number of women suffer from anaemia in the face of the new schemes continuously launched by the government to improve the health conditions of women. The discrimination and violence faced by the women also have deep-rooted effects on their mental health which goes largely unnoticed by the government policies. The concept of ‘emerging women power’ seems to be eyewash in the context of these ground realities.

Most of the measures adopted by the state follow the top-down approach and essentially consider women as mere beneficiaries of the welfare schemes. Women are not empowered to understand and confront the structures of patriarchy. ‘Decision making’ which is emphasized upon in the process of empowering women, have to emerge out of knowledge and informed mediation to instill changes in the familial structures and social arrangements that would help in the evolution of gender roles.

Education plays an important role in the conditioning of the young minds towards the concept of gender. Schools become one of the initial stages where internalization of the performance of gender roles takes place. Gender sensitized pedagogy is needed for the subversion of these roles. Instilling sensitivity towards the dignity of women, emphasizing the development of ethical stand towards the equality in the boys can provide the society with responsible and sensitive individuals.

Encouraging the analytical understanding of exploitation and discrimination among girls shall result in more confident and aware women who can further help in the formation of a gender just society. Prohibitions, reservations and punitive measures can only be the immediate and temporary interventions to promote gender equality. Only a shift in the mindset can facilitate the progress of the society in the longer run. Stricter laws and their honest enforcements have to be followed up by a change in the attitude towards social evils like rape, female foeticide, acid attacks along with the better treatment of the victims. NGOs and SHGs need to be strengthened as part of the empowerment process. These bodies work at the ground level and encourage the victims to share their experiences. Punishing the convicts is just a small part of the justice provided to the victims of gender violence. The major challenge is to help her rehabilitate and to develop a social environment that would preserve her sense of self-confidence and dignity. The role of community institutions like khap panchayats which dictate the social conduct of a community and promote inhuman practices like hon-our killing should be taken into account. These institutions have a strong hold on the psychology of a particular community. The fault lines of such structures have to be exposed in a manner that has a significant impact on the people of the community.

The major role played by women in the economic growth of a country is known throughout the world. Last year, IMF’s chief Christine Lagarde stated that economic inclusion of more women workers in India would expand its GDP by 27% which is massive as compared to the similar impact on the U.S. and Japan which is 5% and 9% respectively. Progressing towards this, the first step would be to acknowledge the huge amount of unpaid care work done by women which hold back their possibilities of boosting the economy in a more productive manner. Moreover, discriminated approach towards the maternity process leaves women workers at a larger risk of being less favoured and losing job opportunities as compared to a male worker. These problems have their roots in the perception and performance of the gender roles assigned by patriarchy. Sharing of responsibilities and coexistence in an equitable manner is what should be of the larger concern in society. It is along these lines that vocational training and skill development should be focussed upon.

In conclusion, it may be said that probing the ground realities of the catchy headlines like ‘the new emerging women power’ adds more substance and nuance to the discourse on gender justice. These nuances do not refuse the accomplishments achieved so far by society but actually point towards the remaining distance which still needs to be covered. Identification of the problem areas and weaknesses is the first step towards their eradication. India has shown a dedicated will to bring changes by pledging to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals which include ideals of gender justice and women empowerment. Only with constructive planning and comprehensive changes at various levels in society the new emerging "women power" shall be soon able to realize its complete potential in India.

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