Prof Nitin Karmalkar stresses on responsible use of social media

It is important to be connected through social media, but at the same time it should be used responsibly, said Prof Nitin Karmalkar, vice-chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU)

It is important to be connected through social media, but at the same time it should be used responsibly, said Prof Nitin Karmalkar, vice-chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU).

Prof Karmalkar said, SPPU is not operational on the Twitter platform and still it is connected to more than seven lakh students. (HT PHOTO)

He was speaking at the inauguration programme of the second Marathi social media Sammelan organised by Digital Media Premi Mandali, SPPU and Miracle Events, on Friday.

During the three-day event, several seminars and interactive sessions are been organised on various topics.

Prof Karmalkar said, SPPU is not operational on the Twitter platform and still it is connected to more than seven lakh students. “We always try to be a public dominant organisation and there is a huge impact of social media on society. All the information given out on the Internet is not always true and so we should always verify the information,” he said.

Following the inaugural programme in the first session, Devata Chavan-Patil and Nitin Vaidya, participants, spoke about ‘Directions and Direction of Social Media’.

“As the use of social media has increased, so has the research related to it. This includes research on behavioural changes due to the use of social media, consumer research, social media addiction, as well as natural disasters, political elections, social media movements, the role of social media in education and research on social media technology. Social media users have become increasingly prone to de-humanisation, self-obsession, and the constant sharing of everything on social media,” said Patil.

Vaidya said, “There are different ways of using social media to gain control over us. Fake news is a part of it. When using social media, you should be careful not to fall prey to it.”

The session was moderated by Snehal Damle.

‘My Expression, My Impression’ was the topic discussed during the third session, which had participants including Swamiraj Bhise, Dia Ostwal, Juhi Deshmukh and Mansi Bhat.

Bhise said, “During Covid, social media was used extensively for social work. In the last two years, social media has come up with a lot of new things and it has been producing positive results.”

Dr Bhat said, “Social media has an important role to play in raising awareness, providing new information and providing help to those in need.”