Read the following passage carefully :
(1) Almost everyone engages with social media in some form. Whether it is updating a status, sharing photos of a family gathering, or scrolling through friends’ vacation highlights, it is inevitable that most individuals use online social platforms.
(2) People tend to view social media as synonymous with shallow interactions, digital obsession, or the carefully curated presentation of an idealised life. But researchers often define it as ‘‘an extension of human social connection’’, says a professor of digital anthropology. ‘‘It is something that fulfils the fundamental human need for belonging’’ as it is an integral part of modern communication, relationship maintenance and even identity formation.
(3) ‘‘It is not inherently harmful’’, adds a social psychologist. ‘‘It can be positive or neutral.’’ Some researchers argue that social media helped us adapt to an increasingly mobile world. Digital sociologists pioneered this perspective, comparing social media usage to the community gatherings our ancestors valued as a means of maintaining social bonds.
(4) People are usually resistant to thinking about social media as anything but problematic. It is true that there are some types of engagement that should be avoided, such as social media use that fosters unhealthy comparisons or contributes to a poor self-image. In such scenarios, no one benefits. Social media engagement can also be both active and passive. Active engagement refers to directly creating and sharing content, commenting on others’ posts or initiating online conversations. An active user contributes original material and drives discussions. Passive consumption, on the other hand, involves more observational behaviour like scrolling without interacting, watching without commenting or reading updates without acknowledging them, while still allowing content algorithms to shape one’s feed through these subtle interactions.
(5) It is interesting to note that social media usage also reveals something about the relationships people have with themselves and others. The type of content someone shares often reflects their values and self-perception, which are key aspects of personal identity.
(6) Research has found that mindful social media use can enhance connection, while other studies have found it can serve as a platform for self-expression and creativity. So, approach your feed thoughtfully, remembering that some benefit can come from it when used with the right intentions.
Why does the author say that social media usage is a reflection of relationships ?
Mention any two benefits of ‘social media’.
Complete the following sentence suitably with one difference between the author’s opinion and that of people about social media.
Generally, people do not readily accept __________.
There is also a behavioural distinction to be drawn between active and passive engagement in social media. (Paragraph 4)
Based on the above statement, classify the following sentences as active or passive engagement.
Sentence 1 : Meera posted photos of her art exhibition and responded to every comment.
Sentence 2 : Aditya spent two hours scrolling through his feed without liking or commenting on anything.
Choose the correct option :
...... mindful social media use can ‘enhance connection’ (Paragraph 6)
The above statement is true because :
Complete the following suitably :
The author puts forth the fact that people can never __________ (avoid/appreciate) social media.
Complete the analogy with one word from paragraph 2.
genuine : authentic : : __________ : fabricated
In the line ‘People tend to view social media as synonymous with shallow interactions, digital obsession ..........’ (Paragraph 2)
By the phrase ‘digital obsession’, the writer means __________.
What type of social media usage does the author disapprove of and why ?
The phrase – ‘It is something that fulfils the fundamental human need for belonging’ suggests that social media should not merely be associated with shallow interactions.
Choose the correct response (A) or (B) which confirms that the concern this phrase points towards is about :
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow :
New Forms of Publication
By the end of the nineteenth century, a new visual culture was taking shape. With the setting up of an increasing number of printing presses. visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple copies. Painters like Raja Ravi Varma produced images for mass circulation. Poor wood gngravers who made woodblocks and were employed by print shops. Cheap prints and calendars, easily available in the bazaar, could be bought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their homes or places of work. These prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion and politics, and society and culture. By the 1870s, caricatures and cartoons were being published in journals and newspapers, commenting on social and political issues. Some caricatures ridiculed the educated Indians’ fascination with Western tastes and clothes, while others expressed the fear of social change. There were imperial caricatures lampooning nationalists, as well as pationalist cartoons criticising imperial rule.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow :
Sacred Groves — a wealth of diverse and rare species
‘Nature worship is an age old tribal belicf based on the premisc that all creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves (the forests of God and Goddesses). These patches of forest or parts of large forests have been left tintouched by the localpeople and any interference with them is banned, Certain socicties revere from time region worship (cadamba) trees. and the tribals (Tamarindus indica) and and Bihar worship the tamarind weddings. To many of us, (Mangifera indica) trees during o o peepal and banyan trees are considered sacred. Cly comprises several cultures, each with its own set of traditional methods of conservion are often nature and its creations.The mountain peaks, plants and animals which around many temples.“I” find troops of macaques. They are fed daily and treated as a part of temple devotees In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck. nilgai and peacocks can be seen as an integral part of the community and nobody harms them.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow :
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The local government structure goes right up to the district level. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that arca. All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad. Most members of the zilla parishad are clected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Zilla parishad chairperson is the
political head of the zilla parishad. Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in towns. gi.ig cities are .Conslilulcd into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by clected bodies consisting of people’s representatives. Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality. In a municipal corporation, such an officer is called the mayor. This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world.