Social media is a part of our daily lives. We use it from a young age. For example, little kids watch videos on their devices like mobile phones or tablets while they eat. Then, when they get older, they follow people on social media and look for jobs online. We're always looking at our screens. Seeing something new. Consuming news and opinions. What is popular, ads and entertainment, and even ideas about how we should live our lives.
On Independence Day our social media feeds are full of flags and messages about being patriotic and celebrating India's freedom. We look at these posts and like them. Share them. We usually move on to the next thing very quickly. This makes me wonder if we are really paying attention to what we're seeing or if we are just scrolling through it. Social media can teach us things. Help us connect with people... It can also change what we think without us even realizing it.
What we look at online is important. It is just as important as how much time we spend online. We need to be more careful, about what we watch and what we believe and what we give our attention to.
Our social media feeds are always telling us what to look at next. So maybe the best way to be independent online is to decide for ourselves what is worth looking at. This way we can choose what we want to see and not just look at what social media tells us to.
