GiriRaj Wins Award for Article on Social Media Usage

HCC Student GiriRaj wrote an article for DWIT News, the first and only Nepalese online daily newspaper managed and run completely by college students. DWIT News is associated with the Deerwalk Institute of Technology, which is an affiliate of the larger Institute of Science and Technology, Nepal Tribhuwan University. His article focused specifically on his use of Facebook, and the distracting and socially isolating side effects of over usage. According to GiriRaj,

“Facebook was no more a social networking site for me. Instead, it was a habit. I was so much addicted to it that I would refresh my newsfeed every ten minutes no matter where I would be – in class, seminar, dining table or restroom. The Facebook mobile application had made this habit of mine a lot easier. Most of the time, it would be the same newsfeed but still, I would be scrolling down with an illusion to see something new. It wasted a lot of my time which I could have spent to do something creative.”

GiriRaj was awarded a cash prize from the Deerwalk Institute of Technology for his frank discussion of the sometimes negative role social media can play in the lives of college students. As the Co-Editor-in-Chief of DWIT News, GiriRaj’s editorials can be seen frequently in the online daily, addressing such topics as the overcrowded public transit in Kathmandu forcing students into the uncomfortable situation of using prohibitively expensive taxis, and the flagrant disregard of health laws in public spaces.

Finally the day arrived and we had to arrive at the venue by 3. We rushed to the models and did the final fittings. By that time, Dinesh Uncle, Hira Aunt and Bruce Uncle had arrived. As my sequence was on the 4th we had a huge rush backstage that let me meet them only for a brief minute and we couldn’t even click a picture together. Show started at 7. After the third sequence we had the models change into our designs. Finally, our design was on the runway, and we walked at the end of the sequence with our showstopper, Simpal Kharel. While walking on the runway, there were a huge number of audiences, included; designers, press media, journalists, photographers, ambassadors, etc. After our sequence, we went backstage and we really had a roller coaster of emotions. All those sleepless nights, stresses, no meal days and all the difficulties we went through were finally over. It was worth everything. This concludes my three years of learning and we had the chance to showcase it to the crowd and people. After our sequence we finally had the time to breather. All along these past three months it felt as if somebody had put on something in our neck as we were suffocating but now it felt as if it had been let go. We could breathe in peace.

After the runway we had a huge feast and that tasted like the best meal that I had for the entire life.