I was thinking of tweeting about the unnecessary use of social media by civil servants for quite some time now, and finally, here I go:

The use of SM is becoming a fundamental right. Not only has it strengthened & given new colours to our 'traditional' freedom of expressions

but also created impetus for different movements across the globe. Having said that, a parallel culture of 'shallowness' has also taken root. Before saying sth on SM, its 'marketability' & 'consumability' rather than the actual meaning it conveys, is kept in mind. Its fine untill

it becomes an indicator of performance for civil servants. Initially, things were a little confused so alot of us didn't know what it could mean for us. As it evolved, civil servants liked the attention they got, so it brought our 'histrionic' side of personalities to the fore.

Gradually, it transformed into an exercise of self-promotion & self-aggrandizement; from posting official activities to personal 'achievements' (myself included) in such ways that it portrayed a misleading message; doing something ordinary & presenting it in extraordinary terms.

The problem with this 'culture' is that it starts to engendering a false sense of achievement i.e. if you have uploaded your pictures to SM & people are commenting 'good things' about you, you're a good civil servant.

Consequently, the governance on-ground has taken a hit.

Activities that are more important but having less 'marketability' are getting ignored on a daily basis and it is becoming harder with time to diff. b/w politicians & civil servants. As a result, people now view us increasingly as two sides of the same coin.

Suggestions:

1. Unnecessary projection must stop (specifically in case of civil servants).
2. No sharing of official activities (deleting mine right away) from personal SM accts.
3. Personal account for personal activities only or if voicing any opinion(s) in personal capacity.

4. If projection/promotion is required in certain cases, it should go thru the district information office (yes, every district has that).
5. A civil servant must understand the difference b/w a politician and a civil servant, followed by mutual respect for each others mandate.

6. Every statement (on SM and otherwise) must not necessarily be 'name-dropping' or to show that how 'well-connected' or 'full of wisdom' you are.

Note to people: An aura of self-importance starts to overcome civil servants when they are given importance by people.

Resultantly, their belief in self-promotion and the 'Messiah complex' that they are already in, gets reinforced. Subsequently, they don't have a choice but to get delusional and that's when they start considering their importance as a RIGHT.

Break those chains people; start respecting good & humane people for what they are as a person. If somebody is doing a good job, they deserve appreciation, but not self-appreciation. More importantly, if a civil servant thinks he/she is doing what they must, and doing it fairly

then it must be realised that this is what they are paid for, and they don't need any validation whatsoever for what they are supposed to do.

Afterwards, if they have made a sincere effort and created difference in people's lives, it will be very much evident on-ground, given the lack of a genuine people-centric service delivery.

Whether good/bad, people will see & know what you have done in either case.

Thank you.