Thumbing through the feed on Instagram, the gravity of the pandemic in India can’t be understood. On Facebook, the search algorithm doesn’t always help to land on posts asking for help. But it’s Twitter that’s becoming the go-to tool for most people.
In the last few days, funny posts and memes have almost disappeared from Twitter because people are desperately looking for information pertaining to the crisis. Not that trolls have disappeared from the platform but many of them too need help. In fact, we all do.
Not just the people we know on Twitter, even celebrities have turned to the social networking service for help. For example, actress Nimrat Kaur on April 23 tweeted: “For anyone in Delhi in a position to help a friend’s family member, attaching her message as is. Many thanks in advance.” People tried to do their best. At the same time, every minute there are requests for information around the availability of beds and oxygen cylinders.
Each time, the Twitter feed is refreshed, a bundle of heartbreaking messages and pictures are flowing in. At times it can make one feel numb. That Twitter is a potential tool has been proved once again. It helped during the Chennai floods in 2015 and also during the Kerala floods in 2018, just to offer two examples.
At the same time, Twitter has become the target of government “requests” to reportedly censor certain tweets critical of how Covid-19 is being handled. It isn’t the first time the Indian government has done this. In February — during protests by farmers — a similar step was taken.
Nonetheless, if it is urgent or timely information one is seeking, Twitter is there to help. While Facebook or Instagram are also helping, on Twitter you can easily access information from doctors, healthcare workers and policymakers. The algorithm is such that chances of discovering relevant information are higher on the platform. And everything happens real-time, that is, you get to see posts as and when they are getting tweeted, instead of seeing just “relevant” posts on other platforms.
Agreed that most Indians with an Internet connection are not on Twitter but slowly people are discovering the utility angle of the platform. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India, India has over 500 million active Internet users, which means there is enough room for the digital world to grow. On the other hand, Koo, which is India’s “answer” to Twitter and was founded last year, hasn’t been able to win over the confidence of users. Twitter is “amplifying” requests for help every minute, making it the digital friend to turn to.
