I Do It For You.....
Got reminded of the Bryan Adams song. Only this time the YOU is not a human being but a pehnomenon that is Facebook. And of course others lurking behind like Twitter, Instagram and now in buried in a grave - the Orkut.
Met up with a colleague/friend yesterday and over a cup of Chai Latte, our discussion went from one topic to another like rolling waves. Totally unrelated topic being discussed at ease with this lady whom I have not spoken beyond a "Hi" back at Bangalore office. Amazed by her ability to put anybody at ease; especially an introvert like me.
Yeah; I dont recall why I said what I said. This is what I said "Most people these days can't have a normal face to face conversation beyond 5 minutes. They are loss for words; they don't know how to present themselves and aren't comfortable seeing eye to eye. But are so comfortable talking their hearts out hiding behind a computer or a phone. It does seem people have lost the art of socialising due to these so called social networks"
Thats when she said - I am out of Facebook. And I "Oh! Is that so?" And to hear more on her thoughts was so relieving because it cleared off some of the doubts I had myself. "People update what they ate; where they peed and pooped. Why would someone want to know where they peed and pooped?"
"Any special occasions are made a big deal. If you are feeling so blessed about having a great father; why sit in another corner of the world and show it all on Facebook? Be physically there with your dad! Yes! people have started making decisions based on social sites these days."
I always ask my spouse - "Everybody seems to put up their "happy-all-time" picture. We haven't taken one. And then it seems awkward to me to be showing that affection for the sake of publicising it. Are we normal?"
Hell! yes! we are normal and thats why we haven't done that yet. If everyone is so happy happy, cuddly cuddly and mushy mushy; why is the world a crappy place? Where is the real you? Just think the reason behind the popularity of these websites. People want to know what others are doing and then in turn want to mimic them - Peer pleasure.
An entire world of business is based on this. And those corporations are getting richer at the expense of YOU - YOU think what you see on the WALL is the real life. No wonder people can't smile anymore unless there is a camera phone trying to capture a photo. They can't
Alas! the happiness does not lie within. It lies on the wall.
"People want to know what others are doing and then in turn want to mimic them - Peer pleasure."
ReplyDeleteThat said it.
However the power of the social media is in the area of argumentation, discussion, opinions and debates, if one is tolerant to another point of view.
Anil, yeah how many use that power right? Its a very good medium to get unbiased views and get to grassroots. But..
DeleteCheers,
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteTrue that! But all said and done, I'm thankful to Facebook for keeping me connected to my otherwise long-lost friends and relatives spread in different parts of the world!
ReplyDeleteThats a boon RGB. If used right and sensibly; its a great medium.
DeleteIts crazy..They even tell you the menu of last night dinner..
ReplyDelete:-) haha.
DeleteThat is why I am not in the Facebook. Visit our home again and we will convert you into extreme extrovert.
ReplyDeleteSG sure I will visit soon :-) Thanks for inviting me again
DeleteI have never been hyper-active in facebook. In spite of that, off late, I am irritated with it. I dont want anyone virtually if they cannot be there for me when I need them. I dont want to read any lovinf/encouraging/comforting words. I want to hear them!
ReplyDeleteYour post has made me think a lot...
Might end up writing a post myself :)
Haa thats good. Thoughts spinning more thoughts is wonderful. I try to use it to share my view of world - both good and bad and my observations on trivial and mundane things that people might generally miss. I tend to ignore the other stuffs that irritates me and its been good so far
DeleteI don't think people are confiding in each other face to face any more or less in pre-FB days than they are doing now.
ReplyDeleteFacebook and others are platforms from which you can speak to the world, or to a group of people, or to one individual. It's an evolution of other media like postal letters, telephone etc. Social media is a new platform on which almost the whole world has got on to. It's early days. Most people are only still figuring out what these platforms are. Some are wise and use their discretion when speaking out to the world. Some are reckless and indiscreet.
Meanwhile, those who talked face to face continue to talk face to face. :-)
Well said. But not all use the real power of social media. They use it in other sense. And lose that social skills.
Deletewe should all go back to cave man days oblivious about a great military base on mars that was built by a secret government agency to defend earth from alien attacks.
ReplyDeleteHahha good and we would definitely take our phones for status updates and selfies
Delete