Frankly, I am a little tired of the numerous "social networks are making us unreal" articles floating around on the social networks posted with tags like "So true", "Absolutely agree", "Check this out" etc. Okay, I get the frustration that these guys have about people losing their real faces behind an imagined reality or about people getting so sucked into the virtual world that real life relationships are forgotten and authentic face to face conversations are lost.
To all these people, I just want to say - duh. And here's why.
Reality is most times a grave and boring ritual to me. I find it such a relief to be safely behind the internet in so many cases. I am not a social butterfly in any sense of the word. However, that doesn't mean I am an introvert either. I enjoy good, witty conversations. I enjoy meeting people I genuinely want to meet. But I still say social networks are a dream come true for me.
I can have all the conversations I want on a chat client and still spare myself of the ridiculous judgmental tones, pronunciation errors and sarcasm filled sentences which I would otherwise have to politely deal with. Its easy, because I just choose to ignore the absurdly constructed smileys (sometimes even the sentences) which are supposed to convery sarcasm and similar sentiments.
I can let the world know that there has been some development in my life without actually going through the rigmarole of listening to them analyse and give unasked for opinions! Its easy, because I just pretend my internet was down when they sent me that message that contained advice filled with concern towards me.
As for the complaints about sending text messages when 'they are just a call away'. Right! As if we dont know it! Why would I want to call up a person and talk for hours when all I actually want to say is 'Hey maybe later, a bit busy now(yeah, right!)' Its easy, because I just choose to keep my sanity and their sentiment. Why is that so bad?
More importantly, I am sure all of us on these social networking sites have two kinds of people on our friends list:
1) Those that you know, love and would keep in touch - social networks or not.
2) Those that you are supposed to know and be polite, though you couldn't stand them for more than 4 lines even on your chat client!
These social networking websites, I think, are a blessing in disguise when it comes to dealing with the second category of people. You dont get rude, they dont get mad. You hide your irritation under a " :-) " and they under a " :-| ". And as for the precious few who come under the first category, nothing in the cyber world can stop me or them from sitting next to each other in a cozy cafe and conversing endlessly for hours!
It is a total win-win I say!
Ever grateful to "social" networks,
Gargi
To all these people, I just want to say - duh. And here's why.
Reality is most times a grave and boring ritual to me. I find it such a relief to be safely behind the internet in so many cases. I am not a social butterfly in any sense of the word. However, that doesn't mean I am an introvert either. I enjoy good, witty conversations. I enjoy meeting people I genuinely want to meet. But I still say social networks are a dream come true for me.
I can have all the conversations I want on a chat client and still spare myself of the ridiculous judgmental tones, pronunciation errors and sarcasm filled sentences which I would otherwise have to politely deal with. Its easy, because I just choose to ignore the absurdly constructed smileys (sometimes even the sentences) which are supposed to convery sarcasm and similar sentiments.
I can let the world know that there has been some development in my life without actually going through the rigmarole of listening to them analyse and give unasked for opinions! Its easy, because I just pretend my internet was down when they sent me that message that contained advice filled with concern towards me.
As for the complaints about sending text messages when 'they are just a call away'. Right! As if we dont know it! Why would I want to call up a person and talk for hours when all I actually want to say is 'Hey maybe later, a bit busy now(yeah, right!)' Its easy, because I just choose to keep my sanity and their sentiment. Why is that so bad?
More importantly, I am sure all of us on these social networking sites have two kinds of people on our friends list:
1) Those that you know, love and would keep in touch - social networks or not.
2) Those that you are supposed to know and be polite, though you couldn't stand them for more than 4 lines even on your chat client!
These social networking websites, I think, are a blessing in disguise when it comes to dealing with the second category of people. You dont get rude, they dont get mad. You hide your irritation under a " :-) " and they under a " :-| ". And as for the precious few who come under the first category, nothing in the cyber world can stop me or them from sitting next to each other in a cozy cafe and conversing endlessly for hours!
It is a total win-win I say!
Ever grateful to "social" networks,
Gargi
