CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Former Director General of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication Prof. Sanjay Dwivedi has said digital media is a useful tool for human beings, but it should not be allowed to become a substitute for life. He said young people should use technology for knowledge creation, dialogue, education, employment and the expansion of opportunities. Amid growing dependence on digital platforms, he said, the greatest need today is to protect original thinking, human sensitivity and social responsibility.
Prof. Dwivedi was addressing online the first lecture series of ‘Sahityayan’, an organisation formed for the promotion of literature, art and culture. Speaking on the theme ‘Digital Media and the Youth Life-Vision’, he said this is the age of vernacular, voice and video. The digital revolution has created unprecedented possibilities for Indian languages. Digital platforms have removed many barriers of language and script. Literature, cinema, theatre, art and cultural knowledge in Indian languages are now available on the global stage.
Prof. Dwivedi said every viral piece of information is not true. Before sharing any message, news item or video, it is necessary to check its source, context, authenticity and credibility. Young people, he said, must become not merely digital consumers but responsible digital citizens. Underlining the need for media literacy, he said, “Do not type anything bad, do not like anything bad and do not share anything bad.” The tendency to circulate content without verification can be harmful for both individuals and society.
He said freedom of expression on social media is accompanied by deep responsibility. Expressing disagreement is the right of every citizen, but insulting someone, spreading hatred, harassment and circulating misleading information are not appropriate digital conduct. Privacy, he said, is an important civic value in the digital world.
Referring to the dangers of deepfakes and artificially generated content, he said verification of information has become even more necessary in the age of AI. A person’s voice, photograph or video can be artificially altered to mislead society. Therefore, media and information literacy should be made part of the curriculum from school to higher education.
Describing human sensitivity as the foundation of creativity, Prof. Dwivedi quoted Akbar Allahabadi’s couplet: “Give pain a place in the heart, Akbar; poetry is not created by knowledge alone.” He said that even with the best technology, language and tools, a creation cannot become effective unless it expresses human sorrow, struggle and sensitivity. Multilingualism, he said, is not India’s weakness but its cultural strength and pride.
Delivering the welcome address at the beginning of the programme, Prof. Harish Arora of PGDAV College (Evening), University of Delhi, and patron and guide of ‘Sahityayan’, said the organisation’s purpose is not limited to literature or language alone. He said the institution would take language, literature, art and culture forward in an integrated manner and establish dialogue between experts from different fields and society. He added that, along with online programmes, the organisation would also hold in-person events in the future.
The programme was conducted by University of Delhi research scholar Aviral Abhilash Mishra. Dr. Prabhakar Kumar, Dinesh Kaushik, Sakshi, Hansraj, Sahdev Singh, Nitesh Kumar Pandey, Harish Chaudhary, Rajendra Pal, Reshmi Kumari, Praveen Tripathi, Vishwani Mishra, Shubham Shastri and Lav Kumar Pandey played an important role in the organising committee.
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