Social networking on the Internet has been spreading its tentacles across all locations, sections of society and age groups over the last decade or so. It has brought so many rank strangers around the globe close to one another in an unimaginable manner. You’ll find people, especially in urban areas, glued to social networking sites all the time as if they have found the elixir of life. Try asking someone punching away the keyboard gloriously to stop and you’ll end up receiving such a contemptuous expression that suggests you have used profanities on them or you’re plain jealous.
It’s a kind of manna from heaven for the lonely hearts, a repertoire of information for the corporate head-hunters, a pastime for the students who find the campus impersonal and an absolute necessity for teens. It’s slowly but surely catching the fancy of even the skeptics and the oldies who find its appeal irresistible. Social networking has brought about a sort of revolution across the world.
The flip side of social networking is the evident lack of privacy. And although people are aware of this issue, they couldn’t care less. Many people get carried away online and reveal personal details to someone they didn’t know even a day ago in a “moment of weakness”. For social networking addicts, being connected is not a necessity – it’s a compulsion. They begin craving to go online the way a junkie shows signs of “withdrawal symptoms” the moment they run short of drugs.
Social networking is “not working”. In fact it is making people unsocial or maybe asocial creatures. Gone were the days when you would find them dropping in at a friend’s home or meeting at the playgrounds. What’s happened to the “good-old-friends” of the yore who would stand by you when you needed them. They too are immersed in this incurable malady of finding an absolute stranger on the net and sharing their innermost secrets. This new avatar of the net has indeed been a necessity for the ones who are absolute introverts. There are guys who are suffering from agoraphobia and who hide behind others in a crowded auditorium lest they have to look at the speaker and answer questions. The impersonal and impassive nature of the net chatting or networking has served them well. If you can’t face the real people made of flesh and bone, you can always go back to the little cozy corner at your virtual world and vent your feelings to someone you probably will never meet.
The effects of social networking are telling on the people’s behavior and the signs are there for everyone to see. The most visible effects are zero tolerance, desire for instant gratification, lack of imagination or creativity (why-should-I-bother-my-brain disorder), general apathy or disinterest in the real world, and the list goes on. Without taking any due credit to this wonderful gift of the net, one is compelled to remark that social networking should spread its wings to provide, to help, to soothe and to solve rather than spreading its tentacles like an octopus and strangulating its users.
Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).
Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in January, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...
—About our writer:
Pounami says, I am an MBA in Finance and a professional writer experience in writing articles, web content, press releases, advertorials, ebooks, creative writing, sales letters and resumes. I have been working for more than 2 years in this industry and have written content for many companies, individuals and websites among which are Canadatop, Asia writers, Academia Research, itz solutions, Ayushveda Informatics, Home Work Mall and more. I am currently based in Kolkata.
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:
Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:
