Sir — This refers to the news reports, “Virtual, but fertile ground for crime” and “After online friendship, engineer rapes & extorts” (June 5).
A pertinent question that one would like to ask is: Why is social media accused for such crimesIJ If one goes by the Bullet Theory of Mass Communication, people get influenced by the message imposed on them through various mediums. Radio, television, films and newspapers, which are also crucial mediums for the dissemination of news and other information, are rarely accused of the crimes that social media is charged with.
Just because social media is ‘people media’ which can be accessed voluntarily, at all times, at any place, and has a wider virtual reach, should it be targeted and suppressedIJ After all, social media has proved its efficacy in more ways than we give it credit for. Remember how it mobilised millions and toppled dictatorial regimes during the Arab SpringIJ