I’m quite sure that everybody here knows about COVID and all the bad things that come with it. You have to stay home, you can’t shake hands, you have to wear a mask if you want to go outside, you have to frequently wash your hands, people are losing their jobs because of the lockdown, and more! The majority of your time thinking about COVID would be about the bad things from this virus. But there are many good things about it as well! These good things are going to help us in the long-term. In this blog, I’ll focus on the two best things that have come from this pandemic. 

One of the best long-term benefits of this virus is the reduction in pollution. This was probably the most obvious. Traffic from cars, flights, trains, and other forms of transportation has largely reduced. This is in turn has greatly reduced the amount of pollution. In China, for example, it’s estimated that at least 78,000 would’ve died due to pollution. But instead, 4600 people died due to COVID. This is happening in many other places too. Within the first week of lockdown, India’s air pollution has dropped to the lowest it has been in the last 20 years. When my mother went to India in January, the airport runway was barely visible when her plane landed in Dehli. But now, Delhi has clear skies. People in Dehli can now breathe fresh air and have a much lower chance of a variety of diseases that are much more dangerous than COVID.

Another long-term effect of COVID is going to be the digitization of everything. People are starting to see that it is largely possible to do the majority of IT jobs from home. Google, for example, is going to let their workers stay home until July 2021. They might one day conclude that there is no need to go to the office the majority of the time. This going to reduce the amount of pollution(people will be commuting less) and it’s going to save a lot of money. This will in turn allow for Google and other IT companies to allocate less money to office costs and more money for innovation. 

Overall, COVID has done a lot of bad things for everybody around the world. But benefits like this are a nice silver lining to an otherwise terrible situation. 

A few weeks back, I was watching a debate with my family on television. It was about an ongoing disputed case over the death of a famous Bollywood actor. And the debate was toxic; insults were being spewed at each other, people were politicizing the issue and henceforth on. But what disturbed me, was that the anchor was a very biased person. I’m not siding with anyone here, but I believe that a matter has two sides. And as an anchor, it was his responsibility to hear both sides. After reading the comments, I was even more shocked to learn that people sided with a biased view; and here I learned the power of media. How it can truly influence us.

So here am I, Reneeka Kumar, to present my views and to educate the power of media. How can you be influenced by the media?

Before I start discussing my beliefs, primary enlightenment to media is necessary. So, what is the media? Well, your television is the media. Your local newspaper is the media. Even, the internet is the media. In simple words, the media is a means of communication. Now, now, now; you must be wondering: “Reneeka, how possibly in this world, can media influence us?”

Chill, I’m getting there.

Media is a powerful tool that can be used to change our way of thinking, our perception of the world. It’s absurd, and no one’s immune to it. In reality, the people who are “immune” to media are more prone to the influence.

We have two faces of media, in other words, pros and cons. The good and the ugly. Let me start with the positive faction of media, the pro.

The positive effect of media: for starters, it has made the current generation aware of the issues going all around the world. As rightly said by Dave Wallis, “Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.” And that’s what the media is doing!

On news channels and social networking sites like Twitter and Youtube, you can get to see videos and read interviews about influential people. See videos about the extra-ordinary people who made a positive impact on our society. Those who motivate us to become a better person, a better generation.

You also, learn about the current issues of the world. Poverty, diseases, national security risk, peace, harmful usage of drugs, etc. Because of this, people are now more aware of the world and can do something about it. In a way or another, it’s contributing towards a bright future.

You see, how can media truly impact our views? Influence and make us a better person with an open mind? But, sadly, this doesn’t happen all the time. Remember, media is just a tool. In reality, it is used by people to push their negative propaganda.

This brings us to question and learn about the negative effects of media.
Who here, once in their life, have seen the “Fair and Lovely”? For those who don’t know, this advert teaches us the so-called superiority of “fair skin”. That you’re nothing without a fair skin, kyunki chitta gora he sabse accha hein! This negatively corrupts our minds, and actively promotes racism! There are more adverts like these that contribute towards discrimination and hatred. To note: as of date, backlash and criticism have forced the company to change the company’s name. It’s now, “Glow and Lovely”.

The media plays an important role in informing us about the latest news. But, the news we see, to what extent is true and biased? Most of the time, the media provides us a piece of biased news and only lets us know, about one side! One that will increase more views! In this way, people are not truly educated and this, once again, leads to hate and violence.

In a nutshell, the media influences you, your thoughts, and your actions. Media plays an active part in shaping your personality, your character.
You must have heard, “You are what you eat.” Well, I say, that you are what you see.

We can’t expect to see any changes to the functioning of media any time soon, so, as a responsible human being, it is your duty to take the responsibility of the media you see or do.

So, the next time when you see the video of a Karen refusing to wear a mask because “things gotta breathe”, don’t just don’t idolized her.

Thank you!