Social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook & Twitter etc. came into existance just a few years back. I still remember while we were in B.Tech, the best way to communicate with outside world was through yahoo messenger chat rooms. Then came gtalk as first tool towards online social networking. Later "Orkut" revolutionized & kind of changed the meaning of socializing & networking. And as of date, facebook (commonly termed as fb by most users) is where the present generation is trying to find their society. The question is weather such social networking websites are truly bringing the world closer? Well, lets take a look at it?
If we could recall the way of greeting of others in Indian society (North India in particular), it was like hugging each other tightly (among friends) to show your affection. Then it became like "Hi, Hello or Handshake" at the best. Then it became a "ping" where one person is not even sure if the other one is actually there or not. Not only the warmth in the relations seems to be missing now, but even the space or the proximics for the friends is changing from your personal space to your friend list. If one would ever go through these sites, one can find hundreds or even thousands of friends in the members' friend list; and if one asks them to recall even half of them, it becomes next to impossible for most of such users. Again if we observe, the scraps in the orkut or posts on the wall of facebook members is mostly done by not more than 5-10 members on regular basis. Other members in friend list don't even know your whereabouts. Is it what we call as being 'close'?
Yes, I agree that such sites have helped to bring our near & dear ones closer to some extent. The grandparents sitting in one country can almost meet their grandson / granddaughter through uploaded videos or pics on such sites which is becoming quite common now-a-days. They can see their children grow, even if sitting far away. You have missed your best friend's wedding, but can still see the wedding pics within days if uploaded on the websites like this; because generally such pics are not seen to be mailed to each of your friend individually or sending them some kind of album seems as a joke now. So, it has to be accepted that a feeling of closeness has been brought by online social networking.
But again there is no free lunch in the world. Those who try to maintain their relations on such sites, tend to ignore those near to them. In today's busy world where everyone is running short of free time, such networking makes it even more dificult to get mixed up in the society around you. The virtual world tends to dominate the real / physical world in such cases. In many cities, the neighbours don't even recognize the occupants in their own building (in case of flats in same building) or in same society. In an attempt to keep closeness with their existing friends & relatives, we forget that their are other people nearby and are not coming close to them. So, is it making us close or keeping us apart from others.
Now that I have taken with making new friends, I'd like to mention another aspect of social networking. Sites like orkut, facebook etc are bringing people with similar interests together as well. The users tend to join groups of their taste & prefrences & generally make new friends there. They share their views, thoughts & feelings & are better able to understand each other, in general. One of my friends reminded correctly that here people might be using masks or fake personalities, and it becomes difficult to judge them as their is no face to face communication. But if we look in general & if considered with care, people tend to make new friends who can & do actually help you in various ways.
So, I'd like to say that it is not the online networking sites like these that bring people close or take them further apart. It is how we use them that gives the direction. Like each new technology, this technology too is neither good or bad, it depends on its use. While some people are using it to keep their family & their friends close to them, while making new friends as well thus maintaining a balance required in virtual & real world; there are others who forget the need or real people & friends by getting themselves lost in the virtual world, and fee this void in case of rue need when you want someone close with you. So, its not the social networking that is bad but please "in the attempt to keep your old relations, don't let those new relations slip away, that are within your arm's reach"
by
Deepak Garg
Comments & Suggestions are heartly welcome.
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