Welcome 2020: Let's meet up on social media in UAE

While each one of us have witnessed how the process of communication has evolved, the technological advancement in the 21st century has completely revolutionised the way we communicate in an unimaginable way.

For years, information was relayed to us through traditional media channels like radio, TV and newspapers, but in the last 10 years, the biggest change that has taken over the communication process by a storm is the near-instant communication by email, instant messaging and social networking. With most people now having access to instant communication right in their pockets, communication of the 21st century has become a lot more fast. Trends go up and down at the drop of a hat, as people can instantly move on to the next big thing the minute they get bored. Social media now rules our personal and professional lives and is no more just a networking platform for friends and families fits the needs of educational, business, marketing and governmental units.

VP Menon, Dubai-based coach, trainer and MD of UV Consultants, said: "I find three types of people using social media. The first type is people who use it positively and for the right reasons. The second group are those who use it for the wrong reasons and the third and the biggest group is people who have no clue why they are using it and they are the ones who spend the maximum time on the social media. Going forward I see more awareness coming in and the young generation will ensure the people in the third group keeps reducing."

Tanya Dhar, luxury and lifestyle digital influencer and founder of Urban Diaries, said social media is the buzzword that has penetrated everybody's life in some form or the other. "When was the last time you had a day off from your phone, or more specifically haven't checked your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter? Social media platforms are here to stay, and the next decade sounds even more exciting with artificial intelligence and robotics taking centre-stage."
"In the next decade, social media could help us in looking at colonising on mars and the moon. Finding a shawarma joint in mars... people looking at going to the next weekend trip to the moon ... We'll be looking at the next space museums into the outer limits of earth and in the depths of the ocean. We would not be paying by physical money but our bodies would have chips inside to help pay, unlock houses and record what we see and hear." Siddarth Vohra (radio jockey)

"In the next 10 years, social media will become the place for jobs. We won't be required to go for interviews and there won't be a need to 'go to work' because social media will become our workplace. We will work 'virtually' from wherever we are and have our bosses and teams online, there will be social media CEOs and team leads.
"Our office would be our smartphones that will be designed and customised as per our requirements. No one will have to type so phones won't have a keypad, communication would be through voice commands and video recordings, Instagram and Snapchat stories and live videos on social media." Hafsa Zaheer (sales executive)
"Everything about our life will be linked to a collaborative and integrated platform. Headlines would be covered by Instagram live faster than news channels. Social media will replace traditional sources of news like TV and newspapers as people won't have to wait till the next day or even for the next hour to get news. Also 10 years later, we would be able to travel to any country without actually going there. By just our voice command, it will be able take us through a live video to whichever place we want." Amina Rafi (auditor)

"Ten years down the line, social media will have an artificial intelligence family option where one can click and get an artificial intelligent mother, father and siblings. Since I am into filmmaking, I guess we will have AI directors who can guide us and help us improve online. I think social media will be the only platform left for people to communicate. We won't speak to people but just talk via social media or holograms."Jash Prakash Shah (Teenager)

saman@khaleejtimes.com