Social media- roles, rules and

responsibilities in Nepal

https://www.123rf.com/photo_85133352_social-media-communication-network-internet-business-technology-concept-.html

Sanket Maharjan

International English Communication

22.01.2019
Table of Contents
Social media- roles, rules and responsibilities in Nepal..........................................................................1
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Roles, responsibilities and rules- the situation in Nepal.........................................................................3
I. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the users................................................................................3

II. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the companies......................................................................4

III. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the advertisers.....................................................................4

IV. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the government...................................................................4

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................6
Introduction

“As social media continues to become part of the fabric of modern life - the “digital layer” -
abstinence is becoming less of an option.” (Parnell, 2017)

So, what is social media?

Most people define social media as the ability to use the internet to share and communicate
instantly with others, even across great distances. (the-history-of-social-media, 2019) This
ability leads in some cases to a negative effect like harassment, bullying and hatred speech
followed by anxiety and depression; in some cases, leading to death. On the other hand,
there is a positive effect especially because of meaningful content and responsible way of
using social media. This includes: following peoples and pages that add values to user life,
being careful when sharing photos and videos in social media and taking care of the privacy
settings.

Today's technology is also collecting data to provide users, information based on previous
choices; in some cases, also through a different platform. But, what is the benefit of feeding a
continuous loop of similar information to users? Life itself is a changing process and will this
help users or just leave them clueless is still to see in coming years.

Roles, responsibilities and rules- the situation in Nepal

Out of 2.4 billion Facebook users, 9.5 million users are from Nepal. This is roughly 1% of
Facebook users and one-third of the country population. According to country perspective,
the amount of Nepalese involved in Facebook is relatively higher than other social networks
like Instagram (1.2 million), Twitter (2.3 million) and YouTube (3.8 million). This implies that
most Nepalese are involved in Facebook for recreational activities which include chatting
with friends, uploading photos of a recent visit, watching and sharing videos, in some cases
playing online games.

With all these, there is a need of developing a safe and community-friendly platform where
every company who is providing the platform co-operate with its advertisers and
government to make a safe community and where each user handles their action for better
society.
I. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the users

In Nepal, Facebook users are from different age groups. Children, youngsters, adults and
senior citizens all are the part of social media. Most of them spent a great amount of time on
social media, especially children because of immaturity and underdevelopment of thinking
ability. Looking through the overall view it is a great thing. Children are engaged in social
media. But, what is the difference between children in old days and now? Before their
thoughts were mainly the by-product of senior citizens and people they surround. Now, it
does not have to be so. This often misleads these age group of users to the wrong user
generated contents and wrong concepts that children are still not able to understand nor are
able to process. Even the cultural issues set a boundary which is mostly superstitious. (less in
urban cities)

So, what is the role of each user in the context of Nepal?

Knowingly or unknowingly everyone follows the trend that goes on social media. Especially
children are the victims. So, parents need to set some rules on internet time so that they
spend more time with school task and building constructive relationships rather than
indulging their most time on social media. Even parents need to learn not to often share their
photos and videos for the shake of likes and comment that hold no meaning in real life
unless done by a person who is important to the user.

II. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the companies

Companies mainly handle platforms creation and technicality. This allows users to use any
information and share it globally. The content might be related to harassment, bullying or
any negative content. To prevent it companies must employee employers who can filter the
content as well as use different algorithms to auto-delete or just unable the posting function
before even being able to be posted. This helps less casualty by not damaging the victim self-
esteem globally.

Fake account removing campaign and a thorough verification check of age can also be
included to prevent children from making their accounts in social media. This is mostly
needed in Nepal because it prevents identity theft and on the other hand, less manipulation
of user-generated content.

III. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the advertisers

Advertisements in social media are relatively cheaper than any other means of
communication. The communication between users(consumers) and advertisers is much
simpler when the users(targets) are constantly glued to the screen. (The problem mostly with
children and youngster) These problems create opportunities for advertisers and they can
hugely earn revenues from the users. This means companies are selling their information to
advertisers to find their potential customers. This is a good thing on a surface since
 companies get paid, advertisers pay less fee and customers get the things done. There is
nothing wrong. But when the users feel completely down or turn into broke or get into
depression. It is also advertisers’ job to help the user to find a way out of addiction by the
contribution of their profit to social causes by organizing campaigns that uplift the users and
re-balance their lives.

IV. Roles, responsibilities and rules of the government

Nepal is a developing country where laws about social media are unheard by many citizens.
This does not mean crimes like scams, cyberbullying, stalking, robbery, defamation and
harassment through social media are uncommon through social media. The truth is, it has
made these crimes even simpler. So, there is a need from the government side to formulate
and implement laws that ensure that the culprit, if found guilty is punished.

Conclusion
Use of social media when done for better cause and reasons, it can be considered as a better
tool that makes a life of each individual simpler and more meaningful, but at the same time,
its misuse can cause casualties and harm. So, as a society, it is the responsibility of everyone
to make it a better platform for information exchange. (Parnell, 2017)
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