MUMBAI: The importance of social media in our lives, especially celebrities aren’t unknown. Actor Ankit Siwach feels social media has played a very important role in shaping up the last decade.

“Careers have changed, lives have improved, there is social awareness, many hidden talents have come to the fore, and there is a sense of transparency between users. But along with all the pros, there are cons as well that has come into picture. In short, our lives have drastically changed with the advent of social media,” says the actor, who plays the antagonist in the ongoing show Ishq Mein Marjawan 2: Naya Safar.

Siwach feels one must understand that being a part of social media one needs to behave responsibly on the platform. He focuses on actors having millions of followers on various platforms.

“With thousands and millions of followers, who emulate celebrities, follow their lives and directly take an impact from a person’s social media account. So there surely is a huge responsibility on the celeb’s shoulder. One wrong step may end up damaging sensibilities, ethics, and sometimes even cause indirect physical and mental damage too. Many actors and other professionals have switched their profession to being ‘social media influencers. And when you become one, you owe it to the society. Leaving a positive impact then should matter more than just minting money, spilling filth and damaging brains,” he explains. The actor also feels that the obsession around number of followers is subjective. He denies being the competitive kind himself.

“Even in school, I only cared about if I am scoring well rather than worrying about toppers. Social media to me is just a tool to interact with people at one go, whether it’s five or 5 million, the purpose remains same. It’s amusing how people live their lives in anxiety just because of the number of followers other people have and they don’t. I know I have missed work because of an average or below-average social media following, but that’s alright I prefer getting work on my credibility,” he says.

Siwach feels social media was “supposed to be a constructive tool for the world to come closer”, but “global analysis and various survey reports talk about the damage that it has one to humanity”. The actor pities those who have forgotten to “balance between real and the virtual” worlds.  

The other thing about social media is peer pressure that an actor faces. “Even if you are working, or not, sadly you have to have a presence on social media in order to sell yourself, sell your product, show the world that everything is fine. I do get lectures about why I should stay hyper active on social media but I just smile at them and continue living my life... there is so much to do, learn and live for. Social media is just the beginning of the “AI” (Artificial Intelligence) taking over. The better we learn to deal with it, longer would humanity sustain,” he adds.

Ask him about the celebrities he follows regularly on social media and answers, “Except for Dwayne Johnson, I don’t follow any other person who I don’t know personally. I have never been that person, nor do I endorse peeping in other peoples’ lives, unless it impacts you directly. On the contrary, you may follow thousands of them, only if they are changing your life to something more positive. Any toxicity should be avoided internally as well as on social media.”