Social media was in a state of shock after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is thinking of giving up his social media accounts. Within minutes of PM Modi's tweet announcing his intention, it became the hottest topic of discussion on social media. Soon, #NoSir, #NoModiNoTwitter and "Narendra Modi" became the top trends on Twitter.
However, there was a lot of speculation over what PM Modi's tweet really meant- while some interpreted his tweet as a declaration of quitting social media, others predicted that it was just an attempt to draw attention to some issue. People were also confused over whether PM Modi was giving up social media for good or whether it was just for "This Sunday".
One of the theories was that PM Modi was unhappy with role and use of social media platforms in the recent events of violence in Delhi and that is why he was taking a break from the social media. Another theory suggested that PM Modi's tweet did not mean that he will quit social media but only that he will give up his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube handles on this Sunday. This Sunday is International Women's Day and it is possible that the prime minister may lend his handles to some inspiring women on that day.
The theory that PM Modi will 'give up' his social media handles and allow some prominent women to 'take over' on International Women's Day, seemed the most plausible explanation of his tweet. Prime Minister is known for using social media effectively to get his message to millions of his followers and this tweet may be a great way to draw attention to another worthy cause. There was no official word on Modi's intentions, but he is expected to reveal more in a day or two. "It will be something positive," ET reported one governemt official as saying.
Many journalists also specualted the same. Sheela Bhatt, the Treasurer of Editors Guild of India, tweeted: "One of my friends who is senior staffer of one of the SM @narendramodi wants to leave told me : it’s possibly a teaser. It could be women’s day gimmick. For a day his accounts on different platforms could be ‘taken over’ by selected women. Btw, he was bit nervous."
Many others on Twitter also shared the same theory.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi using his @narendramodi handle had tweeted, "This Sunday, thinking of giving up my social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. Will keep you all posted." The PM posted the same message on Facebook and Instagram.
In about an hour, the tweet had been retweeted over 26,000 times, with comments of people pouring in almost every second. On Monday morning there were more than 80,000 replies with over 40,000 retweets and more than 1,35,000 likes on that tweet. Most of the people commenting urged the prime minister to not quit social media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the most-followed world leaders on social media. He has 5.33 crore followers on Twitter, 4.4 crore on Facebook and 3.52 crore on Instagram. The Twitter handle of the Prime Minister's Office has 3.2 crore followers. The prime minister was the first Indian to cross the 50-million followers mark on Twitter.
(With Agency Inputs)
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