We live in a different world. The world is more virtual and is also very interconnected. With the Internet that is connecting around half of the population of the world, and cell phones in everyone's hand, the geographical separation has disappeared, to an extent. We can see and talk with almost anyone anytime we want. The world has in a sense narrowed to a 4 to 5-inch screen. We know what is happening in the lives of our friends by pressing a few keys on your computer, or with a few touches on your mobile phone screen.
In old days, we met and talked with our friends in person. We would sometimes call and stay in touch with a few more friends but talks were metered, and every minute of talk costed some money- if the friend was in a different country, the calls were really expensive for the majority of the population. Hence we talked only about important stuff over the phones. Thanks to advances in technology, it is very easy to stay in touch with friends. This is generally referred to as Social Networking. Previously, when we connected with someone, it was all private. What we talked about stayed inside the four walls, or within 10-20 feet of us. Now on Social Networking, our exchanges get stored. Our private talks are now some Content for the owners of the Social Networking sites. This content is called Social Media.
Like everything else in life, Social Networking and subsequent Social Media has good and bad.
The good things are:
- As mentioned earlier, it is very easy to connect with friends and stay connected. Around 25 years ago, before the Internet became popular, I was in active touch with 2-3 school friends and the same number of college friends. After email became popular, the number jumped by 2-3 times. Still, the communication was disconnected. You send an email and your friend may read it in a few hours or a few days. Now, I am active/at will connected with almost 80% of my school and college friends.
- Everything is recorded. There was no effort needed to know the names of family members of those 2-3 friends, or their birthdays and anniversaries. It is not easy when you are connected with ten to a hundred times more friends! Thankfully, with Social Media, all that information is stored on the networks. So if I can't remember the name of a friend's spouse, I can search it and appear caring and connected to that friend and his wife.
- If we needed some information or some help, it is much easier to connect with a friend, and obtain it.
- If we are thinking to buy a camera or a shirt, or want to refinance our home, we really don't have to put any efforts; the social networking company will tell someone to help us buy a camera, or start showing us shirts, or give us the current mortgage rates! This can be a great blessing when I am very busy. This is like having the magic lamp of Aladin, even if we are not at the stature of Aladin. It is actually even better for us than Aladin. He had to carry the lamp and had to rub it to make the jinn fulfill his wishes. For us, we don't even have to do it; we just think of it and the Social Networking jinn (genie) takes care of us! And the best part is that this is free!
The bad about Social Media
- Social networking spies on your conversations. Its Artificial Intelligence-based systems can analyze that and can create models about how deep is your relationship, what type of relationship is there (fun, casual, romantic, deep, and whatnot). If somehow the artificial intelligence guesses that your relations with your spouse are getting a bit sour, it can get you a divorce lawyer at your door ;)
- If you were just browsing something about some camera, for a few days, the AI system can keep getting you back to cameras, and may even make you buy one, with some deals,
- It can make you feel bad in a moment! Seeing a friend next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris with his beautiful wife when you are stuck working long hours in your job is likely to make you feel sad or depressed. When you see a friend who always had lower marks than you in every subject, posing next to a new Audi car, it is highly likely that you are going to feel sudden anger and frustration.
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