Yes, the Slutwalk arthat besharmi morcha was needed in the rape capital. Though the idea was same -- to make a point in favour of woman's right to choose -- the name was edgy and grabbed eyeballs
Yes, the Slutwalk arthat besharmi morcha was needed in the rape capital. Though the idea was same -- to make a point in favour of woman's right to choose -- the name was edgy and grabbed eyeballs. And yes, everyone I knew, knew about the march and most agreed with the concept. But for some reason, no one I knew actually went to attend.
Something did not quite touch the right chords and there could be umpteen reasons -- from security issues to the long wait. But I blame the precarious nature of the impact of social media sites in our country. Delhi alone has 1.6 million Facebook users and that is just one site. Slutwalk's fan base on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Orkut ran into thousands. And yet, in all, just a few hundred turned up for the event. Now, if we don't relate the two figures, the turnout was not bad. But the point is, the figures were related, as the organisers had used the social media sites as their main vehicle for publicity and to attract participation.
In my opinion, the over-exposure on theu00a0 Internet translated into the indifference. All knew what was in store and any gaps in the knowledge were filled with the constant bombardment of every bit of news regarding the event on the social media sites. By the end of it, a kind of optic fatigue seemed to set in.
Most importantly, however, it goes on to show what a great distance the New Media has to cover in our country to become a credible seat of activism. We 'like' things we don't really care about because a friend of friend liked it, and it's on the wall, and our hand is itching to click on something. We mark 'attending' on events we know right from the word go that we are never going to attend, because to attend would be cooler. We take up causes in an instant, because that is how long it takes to 'go green' or 'save tigers' on Facebook -- an instant.
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The fact, however, remains that these sites, especially in India, are a fad, a diluted version of colony get-togethers. Yes, we get addicted in no time and can't do without. Yes, it is a little virtual window of catharsis for many, trying to break away from the real life. And yes, the number of users will only multiply manifold in the years to come. But will we take it seriously? And when? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, if you 'like' the article, you can find me on Facebook.
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