WOW to-pick: Online Social Networking

This is what our Writer Of the Week Lavanya has picked for her topic of choice. It is really interesting. Hope everyone has fun participating. -A.S.

⭐️ Online Social Networking ⭐️

Everyone here would agree that the online world is enchanting and alluring. There are innumerable activities like making friends, tracking lost friends, asking advice, seeking solutions, sharing joys and sorrows, informing & reacting to news & current events and lately forming concordant communities. In short there are limitless possibilities in the cyber world.

So what are the contributing areas of online social networking and what are the detrimental areas? Do we define barriers or let freedom of speech rule supremely? What do we foresee in the future?

Wonderful Topic Lavanya Ji!!!

Yeah we have several websites like orkut where we can trace our lost friends,this type of sites really help.

We have sites like IF where we can get into debates,speak about our fav serials,these all are very intersting!!

But we have sites in which we can form communities and speak very much about our views,here comes the danger.Communities like "We hate India" in Orkut,Hacking communities are really worrysome communities.I feel these things need to be monitored perfectly,cyber laws should be made strict.Yeah !! We need to have freedom but not at the cost of security,integrity of a nation or individual.

Cheers,

Mythili

Originally posted by: realitybites

This is what our Writer Of the Week Lavanya has picked for her topic of choice. It is really interesting. Hope everyone has fun participating. -A.S.

⭐️ Online Social Networking ⭐️

Everyone here would agree that the online world is enchanting and alluring. There are innumerable activities like making friends, tracking lost friends, asking advice, seeking solutions, sharing joys and sorrows, informing & reacting to news & current events and lately forming concordant communities. In short there are limitless possibilities in the cyber world.

So what are the contributing areas of online social networking and what are the detrimental areas? Do we define barriers or let freedom of speech rule supremely? What do we foresee in the future?

first of all congratulations lavanyaji for title WOW...i read some of ur posts and must say that u deserve it...

what are the contributing areas of online social networking???

well...social networking has some contributing areas where you can make new friends or trace old ones...its not possible to write letters or mails in todays fast forward life but writing a scrap on 'orkut' or 'froppers' doesnt take much time and u can remain in contact with your friends forever. it may sound weird but it helps in maintaining long distance relationships....when regular phoning is not possible....

it is also contributive in terms of information that we gather...we meet people with varied interests and as friends we can learn about those activities too..communities dedicated to certain topic helps u understand the subject better.

sometimes u find a friend whom you have never seen before...but ur interests and wavelenghs matches...and then u end up sharing ur queries and tensions with him/her...somethings u can not share with ur loved ones... cause that anonymity factor is comforting...

with a site like IF i found so many friends and wellwishers and realised for the first time that i could write...(being a technical person and lack of study of english as a language...it is important for me)

what are the detrimental areas?

i think the anonymity factor i talked about earlier is cause of concern most of the time...when it comes to befriending new people,their genuinity is biggest question...people with fake personalities are so common that we tend to question every person we meet on net.

people chat and starts feeling about the person but when they meet in person,their dreams and expectations are shattered beyond imagination...

there are communities which create chaos, venting out their anger against a group of people or country or religion which is irritating...

places like ORkut where ur scraps are visible to everyone can create hell lot of problems...fake accounts are created to bash people up.

Do we define barriers or let freedom of speech rule supremely?

there are certain barriers which are important..there is need to lay down some rules cause noone knows how 'freedom of speech' could be interpreted wrongly by some people.

What do we foresee in the future?

difficult to say...the way thinngs are shaping up...i will not be surprised to see people meeting on net,being friends,falling in love and then getting married on net...😆 may be its too much but still....

thanks for such wonderful post lavanyaji

Thanks for your wonderful thoughts Mythili and Himali. 😳

I am pondering where are the other debators? Diwali, Eid still few days to go and Chrishmas is far away 😃.

Originally posted by: abhijit shukla

My best socialization these days is done for example on DM. We can meet so many people with so many interests and so many expertize and so many different cultural background that it opens up the frontiers of our minds. My appriciation of literature, music and a whole lot of other things has grown in its scope because of internet.

to an exponentially larger number of people with every passing year.

Another advantages is knowing your friends before getting emotiionally involved with them -I guess that cuts down on failed emotional investemnts.

Getting tunnel-visioned to the point that one cannot relate to anything outside the few million pixels in the rectangal in front of him/her is the biggest drwaback.

Abhijit ji!!!!

I agree with you 10000%.This DM is like a congregation of friends cloned for me with my interests,ideas!!!!

Cheers,

Mythili

Very good topic Lavanya. In today's world with people like us spending lot of time online it is very good topic.
I agree with Abhijit, I don't have much to add apart from what he said. I think it is great way to keep in touch with old friends and great way to make new friends. Sometime things that you hesitate to share with your virtual friends I feel comfortable and close with some of my online friends. Also, I think in virtual socializing there are not many obligations and expectations accept to be a good and true friend, which we sometime find as drawback in real life friendship or relations. I have made some really good friends at IF from different parts of world and have talk with them personal and wish to meet them some day as well. Specially, in DM i think people share lot of their personal experience and stories and eventhough you have not exchanged a single PM before you think you know this person so well.

Originally posted by: abhijit shukla

Lavanya; Great topic. A friend of mine once told me is that Internet is the Godot we have been waiting for. It is everywhere and we connot see it. It connectes the world as one nad it 'knows' everything. We can do almost everything with it.
Specifically talking networking, I find it great. People have met and got married through IF.

We can meet so many people with so many interests and so many expertize and so many different cultural background that it opens up the frontiers of our minds. My appriciation of literature, music and a whole lot of other things has grown in its scope because of internet.

Another advantages is knowing your friends before getting emotiionally involved with them -I guess that cuts down on failed emotional investemnts.

Yes there is destructive side to it if used improperly but used improperly, even Oxygen can kill a person.

I guess the biggest drwaback of online networking is not meeting monsters through them (monsters would find way to get to innocent people wether there is internet of not) but actually the derealization of the actual world.

Getting tunnel-visioned to the point that one cannot relate to anything outside the few million pixels in the rectangal in front of him/her is the biggest drwaback.

Very well expressed 👏 esp the ones mentioned. Emotional Investment is a very valid and significant point.

I would add even the discrimination based on physical attributes is also negated which helps build frienship bonds.

"People have met and got married through IF" 😲 What? Shaadi.com has competition 😆 😆

Originally posted by: sowmyaa

Sometime things that you hesitate to share with your virtual friends I feel comfortable and close with some of my online friends. Also, I think in virtual socializing there are not many obligations and expectations accept to be a good and true friend, which we sometime find as drawback in real life friendship or relations. I have made some really good friends at IF from different parts of world and have talk with them personal and wish to meet them some day as well. Specially, in DM i think people share lot of their personal experience and stories and eventhough you have not exchanged a single PM before you think you know this person so well.

I agree with your views. Its so true that obligations and expectations are mellowed in virtual world. Suddenly the other point of view is not as harsh.

Just pondering what kind of future do we foresee? where there are more virtual friends than real ones?

[quote=lavanya]Just pondering what kind of future do we foresee? where there are more virtual friends than real ones? [/quote]

That is one point that is scary i agree lavanya. Sometimes I don't feel need of real friends or social life just 'coz I share my part of social bonding and talk with online friends and I am fresh. I think over the time it is not that healthy. Specially, after coming to US I realized that there is online banking, auto. checkout system at grocery, auto payment and gas station etc. all these things that we miss communicating with other human is lacking here adn if we keep on having online socializing and less and less real life socializing over the time it is scary for sure.

Originally posted by: sowmyaa

[quote=lavanya]Just pondering what kind of future do we foresee? where there are more virtual friends than real ones? [/quote]

That is one point that is scary i agree lavanya. Sometimes I don't feel need of real friends or social life just 'coz I share my part of social bonding and talk with online friends and I am fresh. I think over the time it is not that healthy. Specially, after coming to US I realized that there is online banking, auto. checkout system at grocery, auto payment and gas station etc. all these things that we miss communicating with other human is lacking here adn if we keep on having online socializing and less and less real life socializing over the time it is scary for sure.

Very True Sowmyaa.Thats a grave concern and scary too. With internet usage increasing the virual world is expanding exponentially. In India too it has started to happen in metros. From booking tickets, paying bills, banking etc its available online. Living in the virtual world with lack of emotions is dangerous and unhealthy. It scares me too.