I read a very interesting billboard sticker the other day which got me thinking. It read, "Why do we have more Facebook Friends than Real Life Friends"?
To be honest, I don't even remember what the sticker was advertising, but the question was quite relevant. I have nearly 300 friends on Facebook, and to be really honest, I think I would be lying if I said I was actually in regular contact with any more than 50 of them at any given moment in time.
Social Networking is an interesting phenomenon. Undoubtedly, it has its advantages. It has allowed me to get in touch with and rediscover what long lost friends are upto. It is a nice time pass. And I guess moreover, it satisfies the secret desire we all have to find out what is going on in each others personal lives.
The question that we must ask ourselves is when is it too much? Is social networking actually making us ANTIsocial? Where I once used to phone or meet my friends to pass on my birthday wishes, it has now become far more convenient to leave a message on their wall. Real life discussions these days seem to always make some mention of what someone posted on some social networking site. It seems our virtual lives are taking precidence over our actual lives. Given the astonishing rate at which the internet and social networking sites are becoming integral parts of our lives, it will be interesting to see just how social or anti social we become.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
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I think the threat to old-fashioned mingling is that it is so much more EFFICIENT to communicate via the Internet. It is fast, it bears no mind to distance, and it envelops us in a sort of safe blanket because we can edit what we're saying and sound exactly how we want to. That's why we have more friends on FB than in "real-life"... it's just easier to keep up with and keep track of them online.
ReplyDeleteLike any other technology that makes our lives easier, this ease of communication makes us lazy. But at the same time, it allows to do so much more than we would be able to do before. I guess the best we can do is find a balance. To answer your question, it becomes too much when you FB-wish a friend whom you would have otherwise thrown a party for. :D
Haha... well said Juhi. I better be getting a party on my Bday, and not just a Fbook wish... :P
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