We shall get straight to the point. What is the first name when you think of social media platforms? Facebook? Twitter? Or even YouTube? Which of these is Indian? Now, compare that with the number of Indian users on all these platforms. Why is there such a big mismatch? Excuses such as lack of money, or not enough access to technology won’t work any longer. India has grown a lot in all fields in spite of the disastrous impact of #covid-19 pandemic; we are doing much better than the United States; which so far has been the global leader.
Then what is the problem? A lot could be blamed on ignorance. A desi platform titled “Koo” is operating now and even has the backing of the Central Government. But how many of us have heard of it other than in corporate news, and how many of us are using it? The truth is, we are still dependent on foreign companies for almost everything on the internet. Google, Facebook and Amazon own almost everything in the digital space. It is true that these have taken nearly two decades to reach their current position but are we supporting our own social media platforms to reach there?
On a closer introspection, is India really independent? The Central Government is planning big to celebrate our 76th Independence on August 15th 2022; but aren’t we still dependent on the British (Read that as English) indirectly? I am not saying that we must not use the English language. The more languages we learn, the better. For example, I am an author from Tamil Nadu. Will my writing in Tamil or Malayalam (Originating from Kerala) make sense to all readers of this article?
Yet at the same time, why must we post our opinions on platforms that are operated by other countries? Also, there is an issue of data privacy. You must be aware that all our personal information, photographs, videos, and everything else posted on these platforms are stored on external servers located outside India? Besides data privacy, doesn’t it concern you that anti-social elements from neighboring countries will also have access to this data?
That struck a chord, right? So, we will get back to the core message behind this article. I am not suggesting we boycott all foreign social media platforms. Just spend time in promoting Indian as well. Sign up for those and spread the link. Soundarya Rajinikanth; the daughter of legendary actor Rajinikanth recently announced another social media platform with the name “Hoote” where you can record short audio-streams. This is great news and also news that several start-ups in India are reaching great heights.
So, join me in this cause.
We have heard of #MakeInIndia and #BuyFromIndia. Now, let us start #SpeafromIndia. Jai Hind.
About the Author
Yasir Sulaiman is an acclaimed author of 6 books (fiction). A summary of his other responsibilities include being a poet, a YouTube presenter, a Technical Writer, a social media promoter, client coordinator, and a freelance communicative English tutor.