For decades which ideas had held dominance in our society I humanism II democracy III...........

English (CUET) Reading comprehension (P)

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
Last week's US Congressional report pointing out anti-competitive practices of big technology companies and the recent Netflix docudrama The Social Dilemma, that exposes how social media companies are subverting human minds and society call for immediate action to rein in destructive monopolies. These big tech companies like Facebook and Google, to name the most prominent -enjoy greater power over their users than any other commercial entity in recent history. Despite their epoch changing influence on human civilisation they are, ironically, also the least regulated.

Today's social media hydra was just waiting for the marriage of technology evolution with psychological insights since the internet's early days itself when people created webpages, ogled at celebrities, searched old friends and services, typed emails, scoured for pornography, peddled conspiracy theories, and frequented chatrooms. Emerging
platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp evolved to suck users deeper into virtual cocoons. They have spawned compulsive personality traits vastly different from peoples' original selves, fed but band weaponised off the very information we search or publish: The rewards accrue to a few like social media influencers, while the repercussions of shortlived personal gratification are increasingly being felt by young people, families, communities and even governments.
Amid the gratification offered to those stirring the

most eyeballs and biases, facts and reason struggle to play catch-up. Society is setting great store by hypernationalism, populism and ethnic supremacism after decades of dominance of ideas like democracy, equality and fraternity. The influence of mainstream media, which tries to distil fact from claims and present an objective reality, has also dimmed. Gen-Z has known no other world but this. An anxious, distrustful, withdrawn generation portends great chaos. Make amends before another Dark Age visits us.

Arguably, the changes happened too fast for best governments to respond. But that is no longer the case. The 2018 EU General Data Protection Regulation, with norms like protecting the "vital interests of data subjects" and other individuals, offer solid templates for social media regulation. Indian regulators must apply a similar template. After all the
Supreme Court ruled privacy to be a fundamenta right in India in 2017. Besides, social media is also an information broadcaster like mainstream media. Parity demands the same media regulations and responsibilities applying to both. Letting tech companies escape regulation makes a mockery of competition and media laws besides endangering individual and social well-being.

For decades which ideas had held dominance in our society?

I. humanism II. democracy III. populism IV. equality

I, III and V

II, III and VI

II, IV and V

I, IV and V

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Explanation:

Let’s break it down.

- The question is: Which ideas held dominance in our society for decades?

- Here are the statements from the passage:

- "Society is setting great store by hypernationalism, populism and ethnic supremacism after decades of dominance of ideas like democracy, equality and fraternity."

- That means, democracy, equality, and fraternity were dominant. The passage doesn’t mention “humanism” directly in the spot of dominance, and it clearly says "populism" is new, not old.

- Looking at your options:

- II: democracy

- III: populism (not dominant for decades, it’s a newer trend)

- IV: equality

- V: fraternity

So the only correct set is II, IV, and V.

Here's why:

- Option 3 (II, IV, and V) captures democracy, equality, and fraternity—all directly referenced in the passage.

- The other statements either include populism (which the passage treats as a recent shift) or humanism (which just isn’t mentioned at all in the context of decades-long dominance).

Bottom line: Democracy, equality, and fraternity are the classic trio that the passage says used to dominate—so you nailed it.