As social media becomes more central to the lives of Naga youth, experts highlight positive and negative impacts of this development. (Image Courtesy: Pixabay)
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | May 1
A shift in communication trends is underway among Naga youth, with social media playing an increasingly prominent role. As social media becomes more central to their lives, experts are weighing in on the positive and negative impacts of this digital age.
While the Naga Culture valued “the oral” in the past, it is no longer the case in this age of social media, observed Dr P Ngully, Senior Doctor & Consultant Psychiatrist.
With more and more young people becoming dependent on social media, he asserted that its usage is also repressing the social strength of the Naga community.
However, in addition to fostering virtual relationships and offering abundant information, Dr Ngully noted that it helps in “controlling gossiping in a way,” adding: “Young people are no longer gossiping.”
At the same time, he expressed concern that many are developing dependencies on social media.
“Without realising, they will start using manipulation, emotional blackmailing and the blame game,” he noted, drawing parallels to trends he has witnessed over the years while working with substance users.
The excessive social media use could yield similarly devastating impact, the psychiatrist maintained.
“Without realising, it will also lead to the degeneration of the prefrontal cortex (PFC),” he added, underscoring the critical role of this brain region, particularly in executive functions such as reasoning and decision-making.
“If this portion gets affected, then our young people, at the end of the day may start functioning like zombies,” he cautioned.
False sense of worth & identity
“Internet itself is a great thing” with many resources and free courses available from many universities across the globe, highlighted Kedo Peseyie, Pastor of City Church, Kohima.
However, he observed with alarm that many young people especially teens are not using any of these resources and 95% of their internet usage is spent on social media.
If used well, he insisted, social media is “wonderful platform to share your views or protest against the government, etc.”
But the immersion of young individuals in short reels, he noted, is indicative of social media's influence in diminishing their attention spans.
Moreover, Peseyie highlighted that this behaviour is largely centered around self-esteem and self-absorption, driven by the pursuit of validation through "likes" and "dislikes," as well as the acquisition of fans and followers.
Another dangerous aspect is the anonymity it affords, allowing individuals to remain anonymous and consequently fostering a false sense of worth and identity,” he put across.
Asserting that human beings are created for community and relationships, which requires ‘embodied social relationships,’ the pastor underlined the need for “meaningful, face-to-face conversations to speak and listen to one another in real time.”
“Though talking with another person can be intimidating, these exchanges are necessary for human flourishing”, he stressed, terming social media a “very poor substitute” for such interaction.
“Social media offers intimacy without personal accountability and offers the spectacular to keep our imaginations intrigued but without any social responsibilities,” he added.
Peseyie also maintained that when people fall for social media connection “our humanness is affected in a big way.”
He also likened social media to “modern day idolatry” given its dangerous tendency to ‘keep us engaged and enslaved.”
To address this issue, he proposed that one effective strategy would be to bravely engage in authentic human connections, whether through involvement in religious communities, spending time with family, participating in clubs, or attending gyms.
These interactions with real people, he stressed, must be nurtured.
‘Power in one’s hands’
Unlike 10 years back, Entrepreneur & Consultant, Yanpvuo Kikon opined, social media today is widely used by everybody with young people mostly using Instagram and Snapchat, while middle aged and older people mostly use Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and both age groups utilise WhatsApp for communication purposes.
“Generally,” he maintained, “social media use has reached a level of maturity where we can use it for productive purposes from creating massive awareness on important issues to promoting local creativity, talent and entrepreneurship.”
However, Kikon also highlighted that its negative impacts could “include mental issues, anxiety, and depression due to over indulgence and addiction without spending time in physical activity, outside in nature or with friends and family or reading a book.”
In this regard, he underscored the importance of training oneself “to spend time in the real world or if needed just delete those social media apps.”
Given that social media has become an essential aspect of our lives, he additionally advocated for its productive utilisation, alongside entertainment, emphasising the importance of avoiding excessive usage.
“If we can harness the power of the internet, we can now be in Nagaland and do business with anyone, anywhere in the world,” he pointed out.
“We just need to learn new skills from digital marketing to learning to collaborate with global talent from working with designers in New York to manufacture in Vietnam and sell in China or India or Europe, just by sitting in a cool remote mountain top in Nagaland”, the Consultant elaborated.
“The power is in our hands, how we utilise and harness it depends on us,” he added.
