Usage patterns of facebook in responding crisis situation with special reference to northeast India

The rapid proliferation of social media and its popularity of tools like, facebook (fb), WhatsApp, Instagram, Blogs, Wikis, and other social networking sites offers a challenge to all of us in the pursuit of peace and tranquility in our society. If we can study to examine and learn the powerful dynamics of the social media in general, and facebook in particular, we will be better able to monitor the effects of facebook during the time of crisis situation in sensitive areas. The aim of this study is to find out the usage patterns of facebook among the postgraduate students and research scholars in Arunachal Pradesh, India. It investigates the effects of social media in facilitating peace during the time of conflict situation. Perhaps, facebook users in higher academic institutions like, universities become not only a mere consumer of social media tools like facebook but also more engaged as responsible citizens who accept responsibility for the shape and direction of peace and tranquility in conflict prone areas. Since its inception in February 2004, facebook became the most popular and widely used social networking sites across the world (forbes.com & hubspot.com, 2014) and its effect towards the society is tremendous. From the record of the popular movements, like the Arab Spring (2010), North East Exodus (2012), Anti-Corruption Movement (2012) in India and Global Immigration Issue (2016), facebook users has used the medium more to instigate people either to join the movement or provoke violence which added more fuel to the crises rather promoting peace to the society. The concept of participatory, user-generated and user-friendly notion of social media has been provoking the people towards the violence rather facilitating peace and development in the society. It is here the current study is trying to intervene and churned the rationale behind it. Whether facebook should be considered as a reliable tool to restore peace in the conflict regions is the key question to be raised in this study. The major objectives of this study are to find out whether facebook can act as an agent to facilitate peace in conflict situations and to analyze the uses patterns of facebook among the university students and researchers. In order to justify these above discourses, this study looks into the in-depth analysis to the data drawn from the primary sources, and carried out through quantitative research methodology by employing survey as its research method. A holistic approach towards the credibility of facebook as a tool to promote peace and tranquility in crisis situation is a quest of this study.