Smartphone conundrum

Let's say if you are a girl and grown up in a typical middle-class Indian family, have you ever faced a situation when your parents suddenly started signaling that now this was the time when you should stop going out and stop having fun with the cosmopolitan (boys and girls) group, you have been with since you met them. I am not gonna philosophize here much. Just an analogy and a question- Can you guess the age when parents of this kid (in the picture above)  gonna draw a permanent line between the phone and her/him and tell her/him that now this is the age to stop having fun with a smartphone?  Through this analogy, I am not advocating that children of all ages should be allowed to keep smartphones, neither am I undermining the situation I mentioned in the beginning, But what

I just want to ask- can you guess the age?  

Unraveling the Mystery behind Rock Temple Masrur- A Documentary

 

A new variety of Apples. Exciting!

 Apple is a ₹ 4k crore/y business in Himachal. Most of it comes from higher altitude areas like Shimla and Kinnaur. A common understanding is that the higher the altitude better the quality and the higher the production of apple will be. But there is exciting news for us. A new variety of apples is in its experimental phase. A variety that can be grown at lower altitudes like Dharamshala or Palampur. In this picture, you can see the sample of that variety, and you can call them Palampuri apples. #worldfoodsafetyday

World Food Saftey Day- What Media can do

#worldFoodSafetyDay From cultivation to consumption, media's role in the matter of food safety is equally important.When UNGA (United Nation General Assembly) says 'Food safety is everybody's business' it necessarily include all media persons, especially environmental & agriculture journalists, travel and food-b(v)loggers.

You must remember the discussion around Genetically Modified (GM) crops? There has been a long and persisting confusion over the safety and efficacy of GM crops. There were (are) only a few media outlets that reported and pursued this issue sincerely . 

Food and travel bloggers, on the other hand, whenever recommending any place of eating to their audiences should make sure that they are not fooling them. They should clarify to their audience if their coverage of a specific eating point is paid or unpaid. Media also plays a significant role in promoting good food habits and food safety awareness as well.

Its World Food Safety day today! And, for healthy tomorrow we need safe food today.

Why Young Himachal Politicians are Non-Serious about Social Media: A Case of Himachal Assembly By-election

Social media has emerged as a new outlet for politicians to connect with their voters. Social media not only has potentially minimized politicians’ reliance on mainstream media but has also acted as an empowering tool for a candidate having no political background and finances to buy space in mainstream media. Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), a leading political party in India, swept into power in two consecutive parliamentary elections i.e. in 2014 and 2019. BJP’s success in the general elections is attributed in part to the efforts that the party’s IT cell has put in managing social media platforms. Similarly, there are pieces of evidence that support the claim that social media played a key role in forming (manipulating) British citizens’ opinion in favour of Brexit. The Arab Spring, as some political communication scholars note, would have not made its presence felt globally had the revolutionaries not used social media platforms to raise their voices. 

Candidate	Facebook friends	Facebook page followers/likes	Twitter followers/following
Vishal Nehria (BJP)	5000	3310/3304	458/193
Inder Karan Singh (INC)	4993	NA	11/9
G R Musafir (INC)	NA	20663/20659	00/01
Reena Kashyap (BJP)	611	NA	NA
Ashish Sikta (BJP)	5000	4496/6638	1851/858

Candidates’ Social Media Presence (As in their name) 

Candidate	Facebook friends	Facebook page followers/likes	Twitter followers/following	Instagram followers/following
Vishal Nehria (BJP)	5000	3310/3304	458/193	1392/44
Inder Karan Singh (INC)	4993	NA	11/9	NA
G R Musafir (INC)	NA	20663/20659	00/01	NA
Reena Kashyap (BJP)	611	NA	NA	NA
Ashish Sikta (BJP)	5000	4496/6638	1851/858	NA

As on 29 September 2019

In this high time of social media, an electoral candidate fighting elections having no or very little social media presence is an unimaginable political occurrence. But this is the reality of the ongoing by-elections for two assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. The candidates who have been fielded by both parties are less innovative and active in using social media platforms. The young politicians’ low presence on social media, even after the fact that 53 per cent of the state’s population use smartphones, (CyberMedia Research, a market intelligence firm tracking the technology sector 2018) is thought-provoking.  

Gangu Ram Musafir, former Assembly Speaker whom Indian National Congress (INC) has fielded from Pachhad constituency of Sirmour district, seems to have no Twitter and Instagram presence. However, there is a Facebook page with the username ‘GRMusafir’ which has more than 20 thousand followers. The page is frequently updated, as checked on 29 September 2019. To reach this conclusion ‘gangu ram musafir’ ‘GR Musafir’, ‘Gangu R Musafir’ keywords were used for search purpose on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Similarly, Reena Kashyap who is BJP’s candidate from the same constituency is unavailable on Instagram and Twitter. However, the candidate seems to have an unverified Facebook account. But this Facebook account has a friend list that contains a meagre 611 friends as on 29th September, 2019, the date Kashyap’s candidature was declared. It is interesting to note that Reena Kashyap is also the co-convener of BJP’s Mahila Morcha IT Cell. BJP’s Ashish Sikta from the same constituency who lost his candidature to her seems to be comparatively more active on social media. A Facebook account with user name AshishSikta’s has matured as the friend count of the account has reached the five thousand mark. A Facebook page with the same name is followed by nearly five thousand people. There is also a Twitter account with the same user name where has two thousand followers and the account is quite frequent updated. After being denied the ticket, his supporters has created Facebook pages and groups to express their disagreement and anguish. The page ‘We Support Ashish Sikta’ has gained more than 700 followers within 24 hours of when the party declared Reena Kashyap as its candidate.  

The social media situation in the constituent assembly of Dharamshala is not quite different. Vijay Inder Karan, the INC candidate has no Instagram account and is almost inactive on Twitter. A Facebook account on his name has 4993 friends as on 29th September 2019. Keyword search with ‘VIKaran’ Vijayinderkaran’, ‘vijayikaran’ could not retrieve any additional page or account. On the other hand, BJP’s candidate from Dharamshala Vishal Nehria is comparatively more active on social media platforms. An account on Nehria’s name has reached the five thousand Facebook friend mark and a page with a similar name is followed by more than three thousand people. A Twitter handle with the user name @VishalNehria has more near five hundred followers. Vishal Nehria as an exception has an active Instagram account where he is followed by nearly fifteen hundred people and as on 29th September 2019 the account has 56 posts. 

Social media is pervasive and its political potential is vast. It may not necessarily assure an electoral win for a candidate but may provide him/her with a platform where he/she can bypass mainstream media and directly communicate with his/her potential voters. By using social media, the candidate can also minimize propaganda-agenda setting risk which mostly is led by mainstream media. Himachal’s young politicians should opt for a less ignorant attitude towards this medium and adapt to this new social media ecosystem. Moreover, political parties should also motivate their workers to explore the potential of this medium.