Sunday, September 15, 2013

TheFacebookMania



What’s on your mind? By the title of my post, you must be thinking about my obsession for the social network site. Voila!! You are darn correct. Aren’t we all have become its slave? Like a morning ritual we search for our phones to see how many cohorts have showered us with likes or comments. Almost half a day is consumed by dangling like puppets in the hands of social media sites. We have become so reliant on technology that we forgot how to communicate in real world. Calling friends on Bdays, sending cards, voicemails have become obsolete.

Before the birth of facebook I was the queen of orkut. Unfortunately the latter died a cruel death. I joined facebook in 2010 when the whole world was engulfed by the “storm of swag”. It was like a fad. Everybody just wants to belong to never ending virtual gathering. Initially I was awe-stuck finding my old school mates, colleagues, hell even neighbors under one roof. Click a button and enter into the time machine. Interacting with old school mates, filling the missed gaps, sharing pictures, chatting, relishing comments all was new and fresh. Undoubtedly it is still the most powerful form of media for communication today.

 But appears with passage of time, whole concept of face booking has changed. Now people send you request just to peek onto your lives. Though you have customized privacy settings but that’s not liable for people in your list. It has become more of your little black book, an online album or a media to rant n rave about political or social issues.

I feel Facebook has become a place for people to flaunt their success or brag about futile mundane things. Some studies also shows that people who use it excessively are more prone to depression, anxiety, personality disorder or jealousy.More the users look at happy post or joyful pictures of their facebook friends, more it leads to resentment. With personal experience I have seen people gets envious of you by just looking at your travel sojourn pictures. The amount of “likes” and comments you get is another part of their antipathy which leads to strain in personal relationship.

After being a facebook junkie for almost three years, they should reward me with a doctorate degree. I can boastfully psychoanalysis different facebook personalities. I myself was a facebook addict but now it’s not a compulsion. I post my pictures regularly only for my loved ones due to being away from them so often. It’s my way to keep track on my friends, to kill my boredom onboard or playing candy crushes. But anything done in extreme will definitely affect one’s health, mental peace or social relationships.

We need to establish technology boundaries, set aside time for other activities. Get factual in real world. Like most things in life, Facebook is what you make of it. And it cannot be more than what it is.

                                          


                                           Make it a fraction of your life not your LIFE!!





27 comments:

  1. I was the emperor of Hi5 Kingdom, embraced Orkut and now FB. Indeed, we have become prisoners of the evil called social media and we need to slow down. Yeah! It's so true about pictures posted and everything that matters. I do envy you for seeing the world in Anuism fashion:)

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    1. Thank You Vishal.As long as you envious of people in good banter then its fine,but mostly people start detesting you for no reason.Its not healthy for their own peace of mind.

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  2. Well said. I agree. Face 2 Face is much necessary, sitting near by the wall, looking out of the window is very necessary. :)

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    1. Yes a nice quiet time with your thoughts is good for keeping your mind healthy...:)Welcome to my place here!!

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  3. Really, we have become so dependent of these networking sites that we forgot to meet in person. All have become some machinery. Thoughtful post, Anu.

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    1. We each passing day we are behaving like robots in this technoworld.We need to touch base in order to live in real world.Thank you Diwarkar for reading...

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  4. I was so addicted to FB that I started calling users as either FB dumb or FB intelligent which lead me to write this post after my little research on it

    http://www.ankitgarg.in/2013/05/are-you-facebook-dumb-or-facebook.html

    But now I have made a habit to access my FB account only once in a day and touch wood it is working quite good so far.

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    1. Nice post Ankit and nice names for friends They all suits just fine.

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  5. It is very time consuming I agree and used by many in the wrong manner. It has its plus and minus points.

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    1. But still people don't mind spending half of their lives on deconstructive sites...

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  6. Facbook and its games are truly addictive. I have played FarmVille for 3 yrs like a possessed woman. Thankfully it is behind me now. Agree, FB being a ticket to pry in your life.

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    1. Same here Shilpa.For me its addictive when it comes to games.Hell i still love playing Black-op.Need to moor my this obsession as well...Thanks for reminding...

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  7. It can get really addictive. Like you I post pictures for loved ones. Can't agree more on the closing lines.

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    1. But some fellas think we post to make them jealous.Funny aren't they?

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  8. The only advantage of FB (for me) was that I could trace some of my old class mates by tracking down their children !! Yes if you know the kid's name then its easy. (the surname you already now)
    I tracked down a friend who is settled in Australia, and another one in Bangalore.

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    1. Cant agree more.Its one of the best points of FB...Getting reconnecting with long lost friends...

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  9. By the way tried this G+ thing and they changed everything from name to pic. So now its Joe Zach from Haddock.

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    1. Oh great!! Joe good to know your real name.Thank you for stopping by..:)

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  10. Well written. I can so relate to it.

    We are living in the facebook yug ;)

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  11. Very well said! I was and even now still into these ... but once in a while when I feel it's taking too much of my life and happiness.... I just deactivate it and go off.... ;)

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    1. Thats is the whole point.If you wanna disconnect,it should not take long but click of a button..

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  12. I have different lists for different friends. In my personal account, I share links and interesting tid-bits to acquaintances and keep more personal stuff for people who truly matter to me. I find that helps in warding off unwanted comments and nosiness!!

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    1. yes it indeed a good idea...Should segregate my fren list too accordingly..

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  13. As a recent entrant I am not yet addicted but know enough to know that addiction is not far off :)

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    1. I think addiction with the blogging part is far better then useless facebook...:)

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  14. Getting a glimpse of your writing for the first time...and I love it!

    May you continue on this venture dear esp when hubsy sailing n u stationary :)

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