1.

Theme: Are influencers really influencing:

 Influencers are those who can influence the decisions of common people. Until recently, only
celebrities such as film actors, singers, sportspersons are considered influencers. But now
anyone can become an influencer through social media by creating content that users find
helpful. Using Instagram or YouTube or any other social media platforms, influencers are
promoting products and have the scope of affecting the purchase behaviour of their followers.

Are influencers really influencing:

 Social media influencers have an advantage over traditional advertisements because people are
more likely to buy things if they are reviewed by a real person than when they see the product in
an advertisement. Many social media influencers are able to make it a full-time job because they
can get paid through brand collaborations. More and more companies are now using influencer
marketing to promote their products. So, that means influencers are able to influence the
decisions of common people.
 But people are now more aware of the brand collaborations and the fact that influencers get paid
for promoting the products. So, many people do not buy products depending solely on the
reviews by social media influencers. But influencers do give exposure to the products.
 Even now, some people are not aware of the brand collaborations or the concept of sponsored
content. So, they are more likely to be influenced by social media influencers.
 These days, people are vexed by repetitive influencer content. Many influencers have similar
ways of promoting products and moreover, many promote the same products due to the
aggressive influencer marketing campaigns by a few companies. This may make a negative
impression on the products promoted by the influencers who have lost the trust of their followers.
 People will more likely trust the influencers who genuinely refer products that they really used and
do not promote so many products. Moreover, the subject expertise of the influencers also plays a
role.

So, yes. Influencers can influence their followers. But not all influencers can. Now, people are unfollowing
those who promote too many products and are not genuine in their reviews. Social media influencers who
are relatable and who can blend the brand campaigns into the rest of the content without making them
look like advertisements can gain the trust of the people and hence can influence the purchasing
behaviour of their followers.

2. Role of media in society:

 Media refers to channels of communication that deliver information to the public .

Newspapers, Television, Digital media, Radio are different types of media.
 Media is regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy . It questions the decisions of government,
exposes corruption and injustice and thereby influences public opinion . It also informs
common people about their rights. So, media strengthens democracy.
 It acts as a watchdog . It forces those in power to take responsibility for their actions, which
affect common people.
 Now, we have 24/7 news channels and digital media  which give information to the public
almost immediately.
 With more and more channels, fake news has become a common thing in the present times.
 These days several media channels are broadcasting unimportant news for TRPs  (Television
Rating Point).
 Some channels are creating paid news. This type of commercialization of media is causing a
decline in media standards.
  Many news channels are in the hands of a few corporations. Contacts between politicians
and businessmen are resulting in broadcasting biased news by many channels.
 By broadcasting biased and paid news, the media is making people politically polarized .
 The media should give information to common people without fear. But in some countries,
government controls media  by censoring news that affects the ruling party’s reputation.
 But with increased awareness, common people are able to differentiate between biased news
and genuine news .

Conclusion:

The media should inform news to common people without fear. It should strengthen democracy.
Even though some news channels are deteriorating the media standards by broadcasting paid news,
biased news, media is still very important for society. It is informing the public about government
policies, investigative reports and conducting debates to help the public in forming opinions.

3. The government of India decided to increase the minimum legal age of marriage for girls from
18 to 21 years.

Background:

 At present, the minimum legal age of marriage for girls is 18 years and for boys, it’s 21 years.
 The bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 21st December 2021. But after protests from the
opposition, it was sent to the parliamentary panel for further analysis.
 Once it becomes a law, it will override all the religious personal laws. So, the legal age of
marriage will be increased for all females irrespective of their religion.
 In 1978, the Indian government increased the minimum legal age for marriage for girls from
15 to 18 years, and for boys from 18 to 21 years.

Pros:

 At present, many girls are forced to drop out of studies for marriage . So, making the minimum
legal age for marriage as 21 will allow them to continue their studies. Thereby, many more
women will go for higher education.
 Teenage pregnancies increase the risk of high blood pressure, anaemia and several other
health problems. It can also lead to the death of the mother due to pregnancy complications.
So, raising the age of marriage for girls can reduce the chance of maternal mortality .
 Early marriages result in several mental health issues  in many girls. So, this move can
eliminate this problem.
 This move can be stated as a step towards gender neutrality  because it will make the
minimum legal age for marriage the same for both girls and boys.
 As several girls are being married at 18 years, they are not having financial independence.
This is resulting in the dependence of their husbands for survival. The dependence will force
them to stay in the relationship even if it is abusive. So, raising the minimum legal age for
marriage can empower women and can help them in achieving financial independence  before
marriage.

Cons:

 At present, child marriages are happening throughout India even after having ‘The Prohibition
of Child Marriage Act, 2006’. As per the National Family Health Survey (2019-2021), 1/4th of
the women aged 20-24 years were married before attaining the age of 18 years. After the
pandemic, the number of child marriages increased significantly . So, the problem lies in the
 implementation. Hence the law alone cannot bring a change in society without the proper
implementation. Root causes should be addressed before bringing a law.
 Several girls are being forced into marriages due to the patriarchal mindset of their families.
Until now, many girls of such families rebelled against such forced marriages and married the
person of their choice after attaining 18 years with the help of legal support. But now, they
have to wait till attaining 21 years. This will be misused by patriarchal families to threaten and
control them.
 The age of 18 years is considered a legal adult  in India. They have voting rights too. But not
giving them the right to marry the partner of their choice may work against their rights. In
2018, the Law Commission recommended lowering the minimum legal age of men from 21 to
18 years and suggested keeping both the genders’ minimum legal age for marriage as 18
years.
 As per the government data of 2017, the average age of marriage for women is increased to
22.1 years . So, the change is voluntary. The change was mainly due to the improving
education among women. In general, women of urban areas have an advantage over women
of rural areas. So, the solution lies in encouraging education for girls,  conducting awareness
programs  on the importance of education, financial independence and the consequences of
teenage pregnancies should be conducted instead of passing a law to bring a real change in
society. In general, girls of poor families are forced into child marriages. So,  providing
financial support  for girls to continue their studies can voluntarily raise the legal age of
marriage.

Conclusion:

Raising the minimum legal age for marriage for girls is a good move. But a mere law cannot
bring change in society. Widespread awareness programs on the importance of girls’ education,
raising the legal age for marriage should be conducted. The government should increase its
spending on education and healthcare. Moreover, the girls’ right to the life of their choice after
becoming a legal adult at 18 years should be protected.

4. Night owls vs Early birds:

 A night owl is a person, who regularly stays awake and active at night and wakes up late .
An early bird  is a person, who goes to bed early and wakes up in the early morning .
 This classification system based on a sleep schedule is called a  chronotype . There are
actually four chronotypes – Lions (morning persons), Bears (most active from late morning
through the early afternoon), Wolves (Late-night sleepers – they are most active in the
evening hours), Dolphins (Alertness and brain activity increases at night time).
 The sleep-wake cycle depends on circadian rhythms , which are part of the body’s internal
clock. So, sleep patterns are influenced by genetics .
 Even though the early-bird chronotype is glorified and promoted by many successful
people, both night owl and early bird categories have the same potential to be productive and
to become successful .
 But society runs according to the morning person type . For example, most of the schools,
colleges, offices start by 9 am, which is in favour of early birds. So, that results in a lack of
sleep for night owls and hence they tend to feel tired throughout the day. This is the reason
several late-night sleepers suffer from sleep deprivation  and that leads to mental health
issues such as mood disorders anxiety and depression. So, early birds are happier than night
owls.
 There is less chance of physical activity for night owls  due to not having enough time to
exercise.
 As many offices are now offering flexible work schedules , night owls can better balance their
work and sleep.
 Due to the changes in body chemistry, our chronotypes change throughout our lives .
  Sleep patterns can be modified  but the change should be done in increments. For example, if
you wake up at 6 am, you can move it an hour backwards and can wake up at 5 am for a few
days to get used to the new sleep pattern.
 It is important to understand our circadian rhythm  so that we can utilize our best times of the
day for productivity and also can schedule our day to have sufficient sleep.

Conclusion:

Morning persons are called early birds and late-night sleepers are called night owls. Our sleep
patterns mostly depend on our circadian rhythms, which are part of the body’s internal clock. It is
important to understand our circadian rhythm so that we can utilize the best hours of our day to
improve productivity.

5. What is Recycling:

 Recycling is processing waste materials and using them to make new products . For example,
old newspapers are recycled and can be made into new paper products such as paper,
tissues, cardboard etc.

Importance of recycling:

 By recycling things, we can prevent valuable materials from mixing into the garbage. By this,
we can reduce the need for the extraction of more resources from the planet . So, this helps in
building a sustainable world.
 It also reduces the burden of garbage on the planet . Daily, a huge amount of garbage goes
into landfills. More garbage means more space is needed for landfills. That will result in
reduced space for us to live and for farming.
 Landfills are one of the top sources of methane emissions . So, recycling can help in reducing
these emissions.
 By saving natural resources, we can secure the future of the next generation . Moreover, by
encouraging recycling, future generations too will follow the route.
 Plastic and other harmful products affect wildlife . There are several incidents of animals
getting hurt by consuming plastic. These incidences can be prevented by sending harmful but
recyclable products to recycling plants.
 Non-recycled can cause air and water pollution . So, it is very important to recycle recyclable
products. A huge part of garbage produced every day is recyclable.
 It requires so much energy to extract resources from the earth and make new products.
Comparatively, recycling uses very less energy to make new products from the old things.
So, recycling can save power and hence fossil fuels . By reducing the need for fossil fuels, we
can keep fuel prices affordable.
 These days, garbage is being incinerated (burned and converted into ash) instead of adding
them to landfills to save space. But incineration uses energy  and hence uses non-renewable
fossil fuels. So, recycling can save this energy too. Moreover, the incineration ash is largely
mismanaged and as a result, toxic chemicals are being mixed into the air and are worsening
the air pollution.
 As the population and materialism are increasing continuously , more garbage is being
produced. So, now recycling is more important than ever.
 The recycling industry creates plenty of employment opportunities , mostly green jobs.
 Recycling helps people and the country’s economy  in the long run.
 Some plastics can take 500 to 1000 years to break down organically . So, recycling them into
new products is much better to prevent harm to the environment.
  When we learn about recycling, we also learn about the impact of the things we purchase on
the environment. So, recycling educates us about the need for protecting our planet . As a
result, we may become cautious about our purchases.

What can we do:

 By following the principle of “The 3 R’s” – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle , we can protect the
environment. If we reduce the number of things we buy, there will be a lesser need for
recycling.
 Buying reusable products  instead of disposable ones can reduce the formation of garbage.
Sharing items that are used occasionally can help the environment and also helps us
economically.
 Buying easily recyclable products  that use less packaging can help in reducing the burden on
the environment.
 Separating recyclable waste from other waste  and sending them to recycling plants will
prevent the wastage of valuable materials. It will also save space in landfills for non-
recyclable items.
 Buying recycled products  such as recycled paper, tissues etc. can encourage the recycling
industry.

Other important points:

 The ‘Bureau of International Recycling  (BIR) is a global recycling industry association. It was
founded in 1948. It promotes recycling and facilitates free and fair trade of recyclables.
 March 18th is celebrated as Global Recycling day . The day is utilized to promote awareness
of recycling.
 Recycling can reduce the amount of garbage that is produced every day. It can also reduce
the burden on natural resources, and hence we can secure the well-being of future
generations. Recycling is very important now than ever, as the population and materialism
are increasing.

6. Straight roads do not make skillful drivers”

 The proverb – “Straight roads do not make skillful drivers” was said by the author Paulo Coehlo.
There are a few other proverbs with a similar context – “a smooth sea never made a skilled
sailor”, “Rough seas make great sailors” etc.
 If someone drives only on straight roads and do not practice the important skills of driving such as
taking turns, parking safely etc., he/she cannot become a skillful driver. This applies to almost any
profession. For example, in the training sessions for firefighters, they go through mock drills to
learn to cope with tough situations. With such training, it will be very difficult for them to deal with
real-life situations.
 This proverb can also be applied to life in general. Generally, the people who faced difficulties in
life become stronger and can cope with the other difficult situations in life . Their ability to adapt to
the challenges will be much better than others in general. On the other hand, people who did not
face any difficulties for most of their life can find it very difficult to cope with even small obstacles
in life. But of course, this may not be applicable to all. Emotional Intelligence also has a role to
play.
 A few parents do everything for their children  and forget to teach them to take responsibility for
their own life. The children who grew up under this kind of parenting can find it very difficult to
cope with the uncertainty and the challenges in life.
 This proverb can be applied to the workplace as well. Some employees tend to avoid all the
tough tasks and take only the easy ones. But once they are forced to change jobs, they may not
be able to survive the next job, because they escaped from all the opportunities that can make
them excel at their job.
  If we observe all the successful people, they have one thing in common, which is  taking the
hardest route. They work extra hard and take calculated risky decisions to excel in their field.
Even if they are not successful in the initial attempts, they will succeed eventually, because their
experience of taking rarely taken routes teaches them valuable lessons and hence can help them
in becoming one of the best in their field. Easy routes can rarely make people successful.

Conclusion:

The proverb – Straight roads do not make skillful drivers can be applied to many contexts such as
career, skills and also life in general. If we escape from dealing with difficult tasks at work, we cannot
excel in our field. Easy routes can rarely make people successful.

7.– social media is making us less social:

 By following friends on social media and not communicating with them privately, we can only
know the things they post on their accounts. We may not know much about what is really
happening in their lives. That means we will have no meaningful connections with friends.
 The convenience of contacting people online made us prefer it over meeting them outside.
 A few people now have social anxiety due to not having enough face to face interactions. When
we avoid talking to people for a long time, automatically we develop a fear to involve in small talk.
 Trolling in social media is a big menace. It is affecting the self-esteem of many people and is also
making them avoid forming social connections.
 In the present time, several people are addicted to smartphones and especially social media. This
leaves them with no time to interact with people in real life. Even when they are speaking with
people face to face, they are getting distracted by their phones and are not concentrating on the
conversation.
 These days, when youngsters meet or go out together, most probably they are either taking
pictures or recording videos. This is affecting their ability to maintain social connections.
 In the book “iGen”, it was mentioned that in the next decade we may see more young people who
know just the right emoji for a situation—but not the right facial expression. This can become true
if we prefer virtual life over real life.

No – social media is not making us less social:

 Due to social media, now we have the opportunity to connect with many people, even if they do
not live in our area. Before social media, we could interact with people from either our locality or
the places we go.
 During the covid pandemic time, social media helped people in maintaining their social life.
 Social media made it possible to stay connected with friends and loved ones all the time. We can
easily know what is happening in their lives. It allowed us to communicate with multiple people at
the same time by sharing posts.
 Through close-knit communities or micro-communities based on shared interests on social media
along with private messaging, social media gave us an opportunity to build real connections with
people we can really relate to.

Conclusion:

It completely depends on how we use social media. If we use it properly, we can join close-knit
communities people based on shared interests. There is a need to guide adolescents about the effect of
social media on our social lives. If we think we are getting addicted to social media and are preferring it
over real-life interactions, we can go for a digital detox to learn to use social media properly.
8. Points to speak on “Equality is a myth”:

 Equality is necessary to achieve a good and balanced society, which ensures better living
standards for all. But still, there are many kinds of inequalities in society  such as social
inequality, economic inequality, gender inequality etc.
 Economic inequality  has multiple consequences, especially it can limit our exposure. For
example, these days, good quality education is expensive, thereby limiting the opportunities
for the less privileged. Similarly, economic inequality can impact the next generation of those
individuals too.
 Social inequality comprises a wide spectrum such as discrimination based on gender, race,
caste, religion, ethnicity etc . Still there exists social inequality in many parts of the world
including the developed nations.
 Gender inequality is evident in the percentage of women in higher positions across the fields
including politics, corporates, bureaucracy etc . Even in the 21st century, Some families
especially poor families prefer to educate male children over female children.
 Democratization of technology  is helping to bridge inequalities in society through the
availability of information and also by creating awareness and opening doors for many
opportunities.

Conclusion:

Equality is still a myth. But instead of striving to achieve equality, we should be aiming for
equitability that leads to a harmonious and fair society.