Let me first tell you I have reasons for posting this topic today here. I would like you all to read it and please take it seriously.
We often do something in blind faith, innocently and hastily and then pay a big price later and then think..."if only I was more careful, if only I was smart enough to see through the bad game and be cautious" Well, all of us go through these situations in life and learn our lessons. But at times; the lessons can be very very expensive and may leave a scar on a person forever. It's best if we think first and then act. Sometimes we should listen to what the head is saying instead of following the hearts order.
In real lives, we need to be cautious but in the virtual world we need to be extra cautious, for the very reason that it is an ID we are actually getting close to. Behind that ID whether there is a saint or worlds biggest tyrant sitting there, there is no way to know. The virtual world simply thrives on trust and there are many a sick mentalities around who can abuse and misuse this trust. I am trying here to show you the harsh realities of a virtual life so that after this you can decide for yourself what is right and wrong.
I will here today simply touch upon the "misuse of trust in a virtual world" part....
Let me today tell you all something that happened long back here at IF itself. There was a member Anamika Garima. This member was a friend of many of us. But she played a nasty game with all of us. She made up stories about her illness and then finally death. Here check this topic below and see the details.
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/kahiin-to-hoga/293375/the-real-story-about-anamika-garima
Friends such things happen many times and who knows maybe even happening now. This is a virtual world. And what one says about himself/herself is something we can never know if is true or not. This is the biggest drawback of this virtual world.
Here we saw an example of emotional distress that can be caused. There are also other serious and grave realities like stalking, abuse, sexual exploitation, even loss of life that can be caused when your right information falls in the wrong hands.
So we all need to be careful from the likes of Garima and others too. Someone can act very sweet with you all but in reality he/she may not be so. Similarly someone may play with your emotions like Garima did last year with ours. Many of us got really hurt then. So instead of swearing that person later, why not be careful beforehand.
See, when we address a member we have no idea who the person is behind that ID. We know him/her through the av, ID and then whatever the person tells us. Even the name in itself can be wrong. Today Garima may again come here, make another ID and give out a false name to you all and again start playing the same game with us.
So the first rule that needs to be followed is don't believe blindly what the other person is telling you. It may be true but can be false too. NEVER divulge your personal info to anyone be it here or anywhere else on internet. Internet is very nice but it has drawbacks too.
In a virtual world, get close but not to the extent where the other person on the other side of the computer knows all personal details like your house address, school address, phone numbers. When you connect with an unknown here in the virtual world, share your thoughts and not your personal details. A trust, which is that blind, can take you on the very eye opening trip which sometimes can be very very dangerous. Avoid it at all cost. I feel it is better to be safe than sorry.
