Breaking his long silence on the Cambridge Analytica fiasco, Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the breach of privacy of millions of its users. He said that Facebook had a ‘responsibility’ towards protecting the information of its users, and if it fails to do so then “we don’t deserve to serve you”.
So what would happen if Facebook actually shuts down in India? The Quint ventured out on the streets of Delhi to find out and well, the reactions were pretty dramatic!
“We Would Die”
Though there were a lot of varied responses, the one sentiment that particularly stands out is that it’s unimaginable and “people would commit suicide” if this were ever to happen. However, on the other side of this extremity were those who believed that ‘productivity in India would increase’, and people, for a change, would start making ‘real’ friends instead of just maintaining an online image through social media. People would have more time for their families and friends. They would even spend some quality time together instead of living in a virtual reality.
The Dilemma of Selfie Maniacs
The most affected were the ‘selfie maniacs’! The ones who can’t stop taking selfies at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and some in between. In short they eat, drink and sleep selfies. They seemed to be the most affected when asked what would happen if Facebook shut down as they wouldn’t get a platform to showcase their selfies and get a thousand likes! They even came up with a solution – “will go to Haridwar and start begging.” A valid reaction given how petrified he looked with the very idea of not being able to post selfies online!
Umm... There’s Insta
But of course, not everyone is as hooked to Facebook. Some of them did not seem to be bothered about it at all as they spend more time on Instagram and Snapchat now. But what would happen to all the ‘good morning’ messages from their parents is something they did not have an answer to!
Camera: Abhay Sharma
Editor: Rahul Sanpui
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