Mumbai : Actress Yashashri Masurkar voices her concerns about the evolving landscape of the entertainment industry, emphasizing the increasing prominence of reels and the undue importance placed on social media presence. In an exclusive statement, she shares her perspective on the current trends and their potential impact on creativity and individuality.
Expressing her worry about the growing influence of reels, Yashashri Masurkar remarks, “Reels are becoming the future, and this is quite worrisome. With the current situation, it looks like it, and I am concerned about such a future.”
The actress questions the notion that social media presence has become mandatory for success. She challenges the idea that individuals must adhere to these norms set by the digital age. “People have been watching films, creating and performing arts even before social media. If your work gets noticed, it doesn’t matter what social media presence you have. Unfortunately, it is made into a compulsion, which is very weird to me,” she states.
Yashashri Masurkar believes that talent and the merit of one’s work should be the primary factors for success, rather than conforming to arbitrary rules of social media engagement. “Today, everyone is expected to have a YouTube channel and an amazing social media account. I feel it’s going to get more serious in the future. However, for me, reels are an illusion—a false sense of acceptance and approval,” she asserts.
Highlighting the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on content consumption, Masurkar expresses concern about the blurring lines between reality and illusion. “With AI, it’s going to get horrible because we wouldn’t know what’s real and what’s fake,” she warns.
The actress is critical of the negative effects of excessive social media consumption, stating, “It is making people dumb. I have seen people consuming cringe-worthy content. It’s making people into zombies. Once you open a reel, you automatically waste a few hours on the platform. People also benefit from good content, but how much of it do we watch?”
Yashashri Masurkar also addresses the pressure created by the expectation to maintain a strong online presence. She questions the overemphasis on creating content for platforms like YouTube and emphasizes the importance of encouraging individuals to focus on education and skill development.
“A YouTube channel is not everyone’s cup of tea. Most of us are making not-so-exceptional content. I just don’t see a point in it. Children are more focused on making videos and earning money through it rather than being encouraged to study a subject or master a skill. This automatically makes us dependent on machines to do this work because we will be good for nothing,” she opines.
In conclusion, Yashashri Masurkar critiques the current trend of prioritizing quantity over quality in content creation. She believes that the pressure to produce daily videos can be overwhelming and questions the long-term impact on individuals and society as a whole.
