Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
One of the most significant impacts of social media has been the way it has revolutionized communication.
In the past, communication was largely one-to-one or one-to-many, with information being disseminated through traditional media channels such as newspapers and television.
With social media, communication has become more interactive and immediate.
People can now share their thoughts and experiences with a global audience in real-time, and receive instant feedback.
This has led to a more connected world, where people can engage with one another on a scale never before possible.
We are taught traditional literacy skills – reading, writing, listening, speaking – as we progress through our school years.
But today’s digital world demands more than just this knowledge, to ensure we are fully in control of our online presence, making the most of the opportunities they bring whilst steering clear of risks.
It’s crucial for children to become ‘social media literate’ – they must be taught not only how to utilize these platforms correctly but how to recognize the dangers that come with being active in an unimaginably overpopulated world.
With over 1 billion users on Facebook, nearly as many Twitter profiles active and over 30 million people using Instagram daily, adolescents need to be taught the skills to find, create and consume digital media mindfully and appropriately address digital challenges.
Social media law is a developing area that includes both criminal and civil aspects. Generally, it covers legal issues related to user-generated content and the online sites that host or transmit it.
Some of the special legal concerns raised by social media include privacy, including the rights of both social media users and third parties (for example, when photos are posted and used online without the permission of the people depicted); defamation; advertising law; and intellectual property (IP) law.
Material shared on social media can sometimes infringe on a copyright, a trademark, or other IP rights.
Social media enables instant access to individual self-expression and the sharing of information. Social media issues are boundless, permeating distinct legal disciplines.
The law has struggled to adapt and for good reason: how does the law regulate this medium over the public/private law divide?
Social media is gradually becoming an integral part of a business; it has become more critical than ever for companies to have a social media policy.
People are getting influenced through social media to a greater extent than they have ever been.
So, without a proper social media policy, you and your business might get into unnecessary troubles that might hurt your brand image.
We have listed down the importance of social media policy in regards to protecting organization’s reputation, explains the new workplace reality, aware employees about the organization and values, helps in establishing authority, defines private and confidential information, states about online conduct, trains and educates employees, clears confusions about legal matters.
The ultimate goal of creating a social media policy is to prevent your any organization from any social media crisis.
Therefore, we need to create a policy that should clearly outline the necessary steps to protect organization’s social reputation.
We should also be ready to handle any crisis if it arises. That’s why we need to create a good crisis management plan.
It should explain all the steps that employees should take to restrain the damage.
Any crisis management plan should include all emergency contacts of the essential stakeholders.
Assign specific roles to distinguish teams such as social media, PR, legal, and other top executives to manage the crisis effectively.
Any plan should also state how we can identify a social crisis and the damage it can cause.
It should also detail the internal communication protocols to manage the emergency.
A clear hierarchy to approve responses should also be mentioned to make sure only the proper responses are going out on social platforms while going through a social crisis.
Before conclusion, some questions to ask ourselves when analyzing social media posts.
Five questions to ask when analyzing social media posts. Who made this post? There is always a creator of content online.
In some cases, it is not the individual whose account is but rather an organization or company.
Why has it attracted attention? Is the creator using specific techniques? Are they working on emotions or responding to unconscious fears or biases? How messages are interpreted in this post? Will other people understand it the same way? Or can different people see different messages in this content? What values are foregrounded in the post? What lifestyle is portrayed? What is not represented? Lastly, why was the post made? What is its purpose, and who is it serving? If we ask these questions regularly about the social media we consume, we will begin to identify the ways post have been created and for what purposes.
You’ll also question the reason behind the social media posts you make and share.
A society that is internet literate is a society that works better with less chance of being swayed by populist arguments or emotions, which is a society we want to live in.
Finally, social media has had a profound impact on society, transforming the way we communicate, share information, and consume media.
While it has brought about many positive changes, such as increased connectivity and democratization of information, it has also had negative effects, such as the spread of misinformation and the amplification of hate speech.
As social media continues to evolve, it is essential to recognize both the positive and negative impacts it has on society and take steps to mitigate its negative effects.
(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP).
