It's a glory strange world we live in. The world is apparently getting condensed with the virtual life we are moving in, what with the vast array of gadgets and social networking and correspondences, chats and business meetings being carries out by Skype and Cisco technologies. Life is swift and people don't really have time for matters that don't concern them. They may raise a few points/slogans for the terror victims/political matters but the concern last a fickle moment only in their high-tide-ride life. However... no matter how much we may shout-our-lungs out about not caring what others think of us, we end up deliberately wording our Facebook statuses and posts in a manner that has an expectant in us for a good share of 'likes', 'comments' and the brand new feature of 'share'. Life is reducing to a paradox parody of us being the opposite (mostly extrovert) of ours when behind a computer or an iPad screen or in the new age addictive-world - Mobile/BBM blings.
Internet has moved on from meaning web browsing to mostly Facebook. There was a time I used to log into my desktop with my parent's permission and go on to internet and the first thing I used to check were my e-mails. The inbox used to mostly scream like spam mailbox with tons of forwarded e-mails, but I did read them and in most cases, replied back and/or forwarded too. This followed checking of newspaper portals and news websites. Even though the crisp sound of the freshly delivered morning newspaper was checked out for all the news, the websites were a useful tool to keep one updated with any major news break, especially on global front. Life was diverse then too, but uncomplicated and mostly simple.
Circa present day. I always tend to feel strange when someone from work calls me for some urgent file to be send. This is because I for one have lost count of how many times I have responded to such requests and work commitments with a properly salutatory e-mail in proper language and yet there is no reply of a simple thank you, even without the appreciating 'Hi' and 'Regards' format. And this is not counting the personal e-mails of photo/file share. To top it all, I myself have to specially confirm with a call (read, 'not sms') that did you receive the e-mail (even though its obvious its not a post that will get misplaced in optical fibers) and is the send information/data appropriate. Not to strictly mention the almost absolute cutting in the forwarded e-mails (I still have two-three school friends who randomly sends such e-mails, no matter the frequency).
To think that there was a time when not able to speak to a friend on something that may hurt his/her sentiments or just wanting to talk my affection/feelings out I used to correspond through e-mails. Time flies and how, indeed.
The case of the internet news portals is another flash-point of change in habits. Every news website (print and television, both) has a dedicated Facebook page and every news break or major story gets a post there. If the story is interesting or attention-grabbing, the link to the website may thus be accessed. Unlike the time when i personally used to click of web addresses of websites and browse concertedly through all of its content on home page, it has become cumbersome to do that - doesn't matter if the website is a news portal, movie database or gossip blog. Who has time for this today? Isn't Google there for everything? And if any news/info did not come to my attention, it probably wasn't worth too?
This brings me to the Facebook life we live in. According to the film 'The Social Network', Mark Zuckerberg was asked by a girl to 'Facebook Me' to keep in contact. Life has since then all about 'Facebook Me' and it doesn't seems like it will be changing any sooner or even later.
For the cynics, I am not considering twitter here because even though it has caught up very quickly with that 140 character tweeting of one's mind, I personally believe it is mainly/mostly platform for the celebs and wanna-be celebs to feed their bloated egos with the unbelievable high number of celeb stalkers in this world who will apparently go on murder spree if their favorite (red, God like celeb they worship) is tweet-squashed by the stalkers of the apparent-competitors. Let it be out in the open as to who really has time to keep reading the tweets of more than 100 celebs (an average number people or even celebs follow), forget about replying or re-tweeting it. Don't people have other work? When someone like could not get time, I wonder how bad is everybody doing? God bless everyone.
Coming back to Facebook... I so see myself and the 585 odd friends in my facebook friend list regularly updating their statuses in a manner of language/style that it gets likes and comments to reply back to. Pics when updated, are shared over and over again or tagged from one's own profile to apparently announce on the news feeds of their friend list. I do that with my Profile Picture and am not hypocritical about accepting that I do enjoy the likes and comments. Narcissism, I don't know but indeed it does feel good having the attention, even when it is from those whom you have never met but are in your friend list or just met once and may probably never again. It's like my own 2-minutes of fame.
I recognize that this whole perception can be strictly my own and not shared among any other living person. But looking at the way profile pictures are photo-shopped/picasa-edited with the glows and the hues, the effects and focus de-focus, it's tough to single myself out. Come festival/holiday time and people start uploading pictures with wishes and 'golden' words on them and tag them insanely to prove their worth. I respect the wishes and always reciprocate them in my heart, but it is irritating to be tagged in pics where there is no face of me. And I still am not talking of the tons of photo-tag apps which I have blocked from giving any permission to have me in consideration for those tags.
I share links quite often and do think about writing a good description that will attract others to go through it. Status messages are updated either when I something crackling to announce or plain bored. Facebook is like an addiction of the highest order. I know that there hasn't been any activity in my profile or otherwise that may get me any notification, but still I go and check it many times a day like I might get a Magic Lamp for fulfilling my wishes.
It's actually like accepting the unacceptable virtual life. We have less phone conversation and more of online and offline chats, birthday wishes pour onto your wall like the whole world is rejoicing your birth and media is a sycophant who is not recognizing how much birthday spells smiles on the faces of people, who apparently can now write birthday wishes on the wall without even going to the profile of that person - all thanks to Facebook.
Coming back to Facebook... I so see myself and the 585 odd friends in my facebook friend list regularly updating their statuses in a manner of language/style that it gets likes and comments to reply back to. Pics when updated, are shared over and over again or tagged from one's own profile to apparently announce on the news feeds of their friend list. I do that with my Profile Picture and am not hypocritical about accepting that I do enjoy the likes and comments. Narcissism, I don't know but indeed it does feel good having the attention, even when it is from those whom you have never met but are in your friend list or just met once and may probably never again. It's like my own 2-minutes of fame.
I recognize that this whole perception can be strictly my own and not shared among any other living person. But looking at the way profile pictures are photo-shopped/picasa-edited with the glows and the hues, the effects and focus de-focus, it's tough to single myself out. Come festival/holiday time and people start uploading pictures with wishes and 'golden' words on them and tag them insanely to prove their worth. I respect the wishes and always reciprocate them in my heart, but it is irritating to be tagged in pics where there is no face of me. And I still am not talking of the tons of photo-tag apps which I have blocked from giving any permission to have me in consideration for those tags.
I share links quite often and do think about writing a good description that will attract others to go through it. Status messages are updated either when I something crackling to announce or plain bored. Facebook is like an addiction of the highest order. I know that there hasn't been any activity in my profile or otherwise that may get me any notification, but still I go and check it many times a day like I might get a Magic Lamp for fulfilling my wishes.
It's actually like accepting the unacceptable virtual life. We have less phone conversation and more of online and offline chats, birthday wishes pour onto your wall like the whole world is rejoicing your birth and media is a sycophant who is not recognizing how much birthday spells smiles on the faces of people, who apparently can now write birthday wishes on the wall without even going to the profile of that person - all thanks to Facebook.
To make matter more colorful we have the Facebook pages where it's a status symbol to have huge numbers of likes and admirers, doesn't matter these admirers are people we don't even know and 99.99% of these random page owners won't even know them ever unless they hit the jackpot of Fame Game. I myself made a page for my feelings about my college life, watched it grow in acceptance by leaps and bounds, made new 'virtual' friends and contacts, added new admins to manage it with more varied thoughts and ending in having fights with my real life friend(s) for the apparent reason of who rules the roost. Nothing is same now but I an thankful it all happened during this period of self-exploration that I am in right now. It really made me more accepting to my real self. Unless we accept who we really are, we can never grow and improve ourselves for a better future.
Why is there this constant need for acceptance? Are we so gullible that we will accept when someone accepts us, but completely overthrow our own belief in our abilities and personality. This has indeed plagued me for the longest period of my life and still does, though I am blessed to 'accept' that I am growing out of it. I know who I am and I value everything, even the negative ones. My positives ain't that shallow to fall into the negativity trap. However (no 'but') I also recognize that time is precious and this exactly describes by present decision to shut from my theater work and concentrate on the one thing I will always have with me in every single second I breathe - ME.
As I write the last words for today, I want to share a very random picture I came around on a Facebook page today only which unassumingly describes this thought-for-a-blog by me.
Shocking to find it, but then again - isn't it FACEBOOK.
As I write the last words for today, I want to share a very random picture I came around on a Facebook page today only which unassumingly describes this thought-for-a-blog by me.
Shocking to find it, but then again - isn't it FACEBOOK.
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