Social Networking and We
This article talks on pros and cons of social networking and the real world, a big comparison between both of them.
Internet is a very good tool for those who keep hunting for materials for studies etc. It is a world, a vast virtual world, but having big corners. Such a corner in the world of Internet lies for Social Networking. Social Networking, the phrase might not be clear to many but they might be the part of it already. There are some big websites, which allow one to make account, invite friends (sometimes whom we do not know) and network with them and get connected to a big virtual world.
If the above definition does not pose enough clarity to one's perception of Social Networking, I think 3 names are surely going to give you some hint – Orkut, Facebook and Twitter. Yes, I am sure, that by now, you must have got some grip on the phrase "Social Networking" because these sites are social networking sites.
It was not long that I also joined those sites, however sooner I realized the good and the bad, the pros and cons of it. Well, according to me, most of the people who are part of these social networking sites belong to the age group of 12 – 30, i.e. they are youngsters. According to an estimate, by the next decade, we are going to link up as many as 8% of the total population of the world through these social networking sites. But where does it lead to.
Yes, I agree there are many benefits of social networking. If one lives at a place where there are not many people of their choice, one can make new friends online. One can eradicate boredom from their lives by these social networking sites, visiting new profiles, making new comments. But in my vision, these social networking sites have more cons than the pros.
As far as I remember, when I was a small kid, of age 8 or 9, my mother used to tell me, "Son, go out, go to the fields, make new friends and play" and I used to do so even. But with these social networking sites, I have more than 50 friends online and I do not feel a need to go out and make new friends. It sounds so good, isn't it? But, just think, are we not leaving our real worlds and going virtual? We spend hours chatting with friends we do not know, but we dare to call our real friends even if it is free. We spend hours visiting profiles of people we never met or will never meet, but still, find them closer than they really are. Our realism is going into vane. Perhaps, sooner or later, we will all stop talking with our real friends and get connected with social networking sites, stop playing cricket in the fields, but play chess online.
It is not very old that one of my school friends, a female really surprised me. I thought she was an ordinary girl like others, but no, she was a special one (though wasn't really). She had 4000+ scraps in Orkut, and I do not hesitate to tell, she was really proud of it. But I was really not too impressed. Tell me how those 4000+ prove that one is a very famous or referred or very nice guy, I think it doesn't. I have seen people having 10000+ scraps in one of the social networking sites Orkut, but does that make any real difference, I think no? People keep dying for scraps and ask friends to fill their scrapbooks. Isn't this what we call being hypnotized by the world of Internet, I think I am not wrong if I say this extreme vagueness.
I think our real worlds are much more beautiful, much nicer than these social networking sites. Social networking is not bad at all, but then at last, getting drowned in something causes death, be it sea water or be it a sweet water lake.