The rise in number of social networking sites has done little for the causes but more for itself. Twitter, Facebook or may it be Myspace,these websites may be a good platform for performing artists to get closer and be in touch with their fans, for multinational or upcoming brands to contact the consumer and ask them what they really need and for people like me to showcase our so called talent. These websites give us an opportunity to get in touch with old friends that we have lost contact with and to be in constant touch with friends and family in far away lands.
When you sit in front of your desktop or laptop, what is the first thing you check? I asked the very same questions to some friends and family members. I got the same answer every time. Facebook or one or two Orkut here and there. Irrespective of whether it is Facebook, Orkut, Myspace or whatever, the answer is we all are victims of social networking.
Let’s not blame us teenagers for the urge to socialize virtually. The adults are no better. What astound me is that there are people who will actually update their status every few hours to what they are really doing. I mean its okay your doing something, but really what happened to the term “it’s my private matter”? Infact, I know this person and she is quite active on facebook and updates her status from time to time. I remember her last status was “Black” (which evidently meant the colour of the Bra she was wearing at that point of time.) I guess we don’t really care about her bra, now do we? I guess privacy isn’t important anymore, well…at least for some.
So when we get a friend request from some unknown being, we usually accept it. Why? Because some think the more number of friends they have, the more popular they are amongst their peers. This farce belief is especially true with the kids. So the ‘friends only’ setting gets chucked out of the window and our personal information is free for all. For some adding all the number of random girls they find in the search list. Anyone they think is “hot” they send out a request. Why not? In the end you’d look popular right?
A note to these stalkers: You’re never going to land a girl in the bed with these requests and those ‘OMG cool’ statements like “hi will you be my frandzz babezz” Trust me!
That’s not the end of it; most of these websites have interactive games. Most famous of them all: Farmville and Mafia Wars. These games are dope. Playing once or twice isn’t bad. But every session lasts for about an hour each. Half the people in my friends are either farmers or mafias, battling out that has the bigger farm or rather who can beat up more people and become the mafia of Facebook. Sigh. I plead guilty to have tried atleast one of them. But, it was never like I was addicted to them. I know quite a few people for who these games are life. Missing one session is like a panic attack, further more these games give the player and opportunity to publish the achievements on the homepage and wall. So the once meaningful wall is bombarded with annoying, irritating and unnecessary information.
After all this blabbing I might look like I am a retard who is against social networking. But, that is not the case. I am active on Facebook myself and find a it a great medium to exchange thoughts, catch up with old friends or just showcase some recently taken photographs, on my Photography page. Even in social networking there is a fine tuned line between sharing your private moments to sharing your thoughts. Your friends might put humorous posts but eventually it will all wear out. And do you really want your potential future employer to do a background check and discovering your status as to which colour bra or underwear you’re wearing today?
