Author – Jaimine Vaishnav

We become what we think, preached Buddha. If you are often active on social media, which I think you are, you already have made conclusions regarding the culture of networking and interactions that take place. One word that frequently comes in your mind, when referred to social media: Toxicity. Although we cannot afford to detach from social media networking for a longer period of time, as our lifestyle demands so, ‘nation wants to know’ if our interactions really offer safe space and democratic environment to the ones who dissent, disagree and disobey? I guess we have policed and regulated our thoughts to such an extent that democracy of social interactions looks inherently farce.

Be it any social media networking app., the noise of politics, opinionated minds and abuses are extremely high. It’s not that women and queer are always under scanner of the misologists, for voicing out their views against mainstream ideas, but heretical men too. Obviously, not all men. The misologists are the ones who are very parochial and conventional in their way of looking at social interactions. Mind you, they’re in majority. In a span of the last few years, we have seen a systemic transcendence and gradual degradation of ‘democracy’. India has reached to a point where mobocracy rules very vociferously. Interactions on social media networks have become aggressive, racistic, misogynical and illiberal. Thence, no doubt in confirming that on the global index of free speech, India has dropped from 132/190 nations to 142/190 nations since 2014. As long as India is ahead of Pakistan, there’s no outrage against such degradation. Nations like Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are doing better than India there. I hope I will be told to leave for either of these two nations by the very gatekeepers of ‘Indian culture’ for this confession.

In fact, the statists of the current landscape hail any governmental move against individuality, personal choice, marriage system, privacy and liberties. What can be any other alternative for ‘dystopia’ here? The government has spent a lot on social media. Obviously, it cannot be about advertisements only. As per estimates, the Union Government spent nearly Rs 6,500 crore on advertising and publicity from 2014 to 2019, roughly Rs 1,200-1,300 crore per annum, assumed to be double than UPA’s spending last decade. For an industry size of Rs 65,000-70,000 crore, the central government’s share is roughly 3-4%. Although ads play a huge role in irrationally shaping our consciousness, preferences and choices, the buck does not stop there. The scandalous case of Ankhi Das, former policy head of Facebook India, okaying with the maintenance of hate/communal videos on Facebook tells a lot about the genre of interactions that the current government would want the citizens to assimilate with. Sign up with Twitter, you shall see anger, slurs, abuses and doxxing. Hatred and fake news are known to benefit the current landscape a lot. A lot many people do not have sufficient time to question the stream, since our education system and media narratives anyway discourage us to go apocryphal and Socratic at a very early age. All those adults, especially educated ones, are very automaton in their cognitive processes.

A study (2019) conducted by a team from the University of Essex, UK, lead by Sayan Mukherjee and his associates, figured out that fake news does not change people’s preference for political views. It just reinforces the existing beliefs and brings out the worst impulses in them. I am currently reading a book ‘Crime Pays’ by Milan Vaishnav, director at Carnegie Endowment, South Asia chapter, that tells a lot that Indian voters caste their vote than cast their vote. Their voting preference is also shaped by their bounded consciousness towards politics and would prefer a criminal politician over a non-masculine ‘clean’ politician. It’s the muscles and money they vote for, and thus India is unfree from unclean politics. Talk or promote hate, you’re popular overnight. The irony is to witness majoritarians defending the foundations of abhorrence than condemning it. Are not the qualities of interactions responsible for such a moment?

These readings can also help us come to a ratiocinating lesson that the ongoing characteristics of interactions have a huge role to play behind the pillars of fascism across India. For any democracy to strongly function, it is common-sensical fact to learn that the leader of the nation conducts a press conference. It’s anti-national of me to wish for this dream. Even if the event takes place, I am sure the journalists will infight each other than letting the supreme leader speak. Journalists, in today’s epoch, are the Public Relation Officers (PRO) of the ruling landscape, except few dissenting journalists who are reminded to fear sedition cases, rape threats or even death. Interactions are vital to the health of democracy and thus social networking has a huge role to play for undoing the hierarchical structures in our communities but however, the culture of fear, suspicion and distrust have been generated to enable hatred and illiberalism. The kind of interactions that take place even within the ambit of our families, tells a lot about their orientation towards homosexuality, Islam and other minorities and women. Since parenting, under the garb of ‘sanskaar’, has been known for dissuading kids to think outside the box, hate crimes and mob lynchings are easily cheered and WhatsApped.

May God protect India from ‘new’ India!

Mr Jaimine Vaishnav is the author of this article. He is a lecturer based in Mumbai, India, and a blogger. He fights Hindutva trollers and toadies on Twitter, while staying mindful. Follow at @jaiminism