Social networking v/s personal networks

“Happy birthday daddy!, “At the hawaian shack, alive and kicking” or “feeling too low and down”

Most of us know what the above three sentences indicate. We also know what they look like.Proabably, status updates put up popular networking sites like Facebook or my space or the now famous Twitter tweets, popularly called “Tweeting”.

Initially it was just the computer, then came the internet, and now its facebook. Apart from food, clothing and shelter, 2011 would rate Facebook as one human need. We all know how anxious we get to check our wallposts or our status comments. If not ours, then someone else’s. Cell phones already top the list, but “FB” is not far away. It is not surprising to know the amount of people who are a part of social networking sites from different age groups. Starting from as young as 10 yrs old to as old as 80 yrs.

Being a part of these is no harm, but getting too addicted and making it a part of you certainly is. Social networking is not at all a bad thing. You build a network of people and you grow the network. Networking thus help, be it professional or personal life. What could be better, than getting in touch with long lost friends, or being in constant touch with your loved ones and letting them know about your where about or also coming across like minded people who share similar tastes and interests like yours. The most popular sites likes facebook, twitter, my space, and also google+, that has been recently launched,are sites that we love and associate with because they do help us in some way or the other, or also serve as a means of entertainment. They keep us connected with the outgoing world.

Too much of anything in life is not good. Too much salt leaves the food tasteless. The same applies to social networking. Ask yourself when was the last time you picked up your phone and wished your loved one a happy birthday, or had a long chat with your mum or dad about something eventful in your life.

We all do it on something called as “Wallposts”, isn’t it? Not bad. But certainly the same isn’t too great, either. The world has turned digital and personal relationships also seem to be virtual now. You share your day, your thoughts with one another via status updates, or photo sharing. Social networking sites were made with the aim of keeping in touch with your loved ones and meeting people. They aren’t about living your world online and loosing out on relationships that hold so dear to you. Why let something of the least value to you, take over other things that are more precious to you. This is what an overdose of facebook does to you. We find ourselves so engrossed in things that must be of the least importance and at times totally senseless. Checking out some one else’s profile, digging deep to find some gossip in those wallposts, spending time more than required on sending out friend request like the “I want to make Franship with you” types and the like.

What good does all of this do to us? Nothing in this world is ever wrong till exercised in their limits. Like what excess of alcohol does to us.

It’s not only the youth of today who surf these sites. We see mummas, dadas, and also grandparents on these popular sites. It gives immense joy to stay connected with people over seven seas, living long distance away. You share your world with them and update them, and vice versa. However, have you ever given a thought to the ones who you meet everyday and fail to have a decent face to face conversation with? You blog, you scrap, you comment, you tweet, and much more. Everything seems so digital and virtual. Also talking about the number of people we randomly add on to our friends list. The list amuses me. Do we ever acknowledge their presence while we meet them around? Ever smiled and stopped to share some friendly greetings with them? I doubt. None of us do. There must be 500 people on our personal list and sadly we don’t care about them when they just pass us by. What kind of a social relationship are we building upon? Similarly, how often have we allowed such sites to take control over our daily lives, making us ignore and give a blind eye to things that are more important than these?

Social networking sites have their pros and cons. If they make the world small and keep us connected with the rest, they also create barriers. If they help us make new friends beyond boundaries, they also make us take for granted our neighbors. Relationships are taken for granted and things online seem to be a game played.

Lets make these “a part of our world” and not “the world” for us.

In 1998, Kraut et al. showed a correlation between Internet use and declines in social relationships and isolation.Greater use of the Internet was also associated with small, but statistically significant declines in social involvement as measured by communication with the family and the size of people’s local social networks and with increases in loneliness, a psychological state associated with social involvement.