THIS is the era of social media, which has a great importance in our lives. It is well nigh impossible for us to be without it. It is a drug that has addicted everyone, be it children or senior citizens, all are engaged in social networking.

Social media has positive and negative sides. It is used to convey messages and has become the major and fastest source of getting news, albeit not always reliable. However, it has defects as well.

It is the biggest source of creating rifts in relationships and a tool for those out to defraud and cheat us. Social media plays the role of devil’s advocate in awakening pangs of jealousy, creating conflict and fostering enmity.

We should reduce our dependence on social media and use it sparingly. It may be incredible, useful, and a fun way of killing time, but teenagers have abused this facility and turned it into mini social control rooms.

The intense use of social media has caused a dramatic decrease in face-to-face communication. This has reduced our ability to interact with others.

Khurram Ali Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017