Social Media - A study to explore its Role and Contribution in Promoting Peace

Abstract

In today’s world, the internet technology has grown widely, and social media have become a new platform to connect people. We see the use of social media to bridge the divides between different ethnic and religious groups and fostering inter-ethnic dialogues. Recently we have witnessed the Arab Spring, the Jan Lokpal Bill of Anna Hazare, and many such cases that have proved the power of social media. Thus, we can say that this was just the beginning of a wave, an era in the use of social networks to bring people together to fight and protest against violence. The power of social media cannot be ignored today. It has become essential and easy medium to reach a large number of audiences and has become a vital element of today’s life. The social media has proved itself to be a powerful tool for the promotion of peace and has provided not only national but international platform, which allows people to make a positive difference. Social media can be a powerful tool to mobilize people to build peace. With an estimation of around 200 million-plus blogs, more than 120 million YouTube videos and over 500 million Facebook users worldwide, we know that online social networking is a form of human interaction with enormous impact. It is a well-known fact that media affects the minds and behaviors of young people. If media and technology combined together, it can save lives. Thus, the main objective of the study was to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of social media as a tool in facilitating peace in Conflict Situation. The study also tried to analyze and figure out the contribution of social media in promoting peace and preventing violence. For the study various blogs were considered, who were working to bind the people of Northeast India together. Many social networking sites were studied as well to explore many facts.