THE DEVILISH ANGEL

             

 It makes you believe you have company of hundreds of people but in reality you are lonely. It makes you popular among people when in reality it is not your true self. It makes you laugh with no real muscles involved but a mere LOL.  It is getting you closer to people far away and getting you far away from people close by. It gives you hundreds of new ideas but in reality you are lazy to execute them. It exposes you to imperfect people appearing perfect when in reality the perfect people in your life are losing worth.  It glamorizes alcohol, nakedness, materialism and takes you far away from moral and cultural values.

Well, the list goes on and on. In my span of writing I have not come across a subject that can outnumber negative than positive effects on human race. The social media has revolutionized the way we talk and interact with people because these internet apps allow the exchange and creation of the content without actual personal interaction. The number of people using the social media keeps growing everyday.

Some of the real facts of social media are

• The desire to compare lives! Compare looks, travel, shopping, spouses, houses, popularity. Oh what is she wearing? What is he driving? Where is she going? What did he eat? Whom is she seeing? Blah Blah Blah. If a person is jealous chances are it is the best medium to find whereabouts, track conversation, check comments and fire own bottoms with results.
• If you are bored, what better way is there than to sit and stalk pictures and profiles. Hmm so feeling restless, so sad your wifi is not working or your data package got over. Too bad you forgot your phone at home.
• Face to face interaction? Forget it I will just message on watsapp. There is reduced quality time spending with family as somebody is always busy staring at their phone. My cousin just moved from India closer to my home. I got her India number through another cousin through watsapp and our conversation started on watsapp. We chatted a long time and then I guess we felt there was no need for real interaction as we had already run out of conversation. Few times of planned meeting never materialized and we are just continuing our relationship on watsapp. I have not seen her in ages but know her considerably well now.
• License to hurt others- No need to open the big mouth and fabricate words from the boneless organ. The rubbish in the mind can be translated into texts and our fingers can send them. The chances are negligible that the tongue can slip if that person is present physically but on the blank screen the fingers are can send anything we want in our anger or frustration. One cannot sense the emotion or enthusiasm of the other person and makes us wonder what they are saying leading to misunderstanding. Real conversation needs emotions, body language and voice modulation.
• Creating a self image by posting edited pictures, made to look perfect, sharing happy news and success stories. Tra la la la. No sad news. I think some share that also. Sometimes people post hundreds of images doing everything like eating, sitting, jumping, laughing, dancing, pouting and many more verbs i can remember. How much effort and energy must be going into dressing themselves, posing and posting. Think about annoying other people around to click their pictures. Hey we forgot about selfies!! How many selfies we all take to get that perfect one to go on Instagram. On an average if we spend one hour everyday it would be nine weeks in a year roughly, that is enough to complete a college course.
• Loss of productivity- I read that companies lose millions of dollars every year because employees are busy with social media. I once saw a lady in a company during my part time work during internship. She would quickly switch the website when she would see the boss around. She managed to complete her work somehow, not sure how!

 These were some of the major drawbacks not forgetting it causes addiction, reduces learning and research capabilities of students.  There is fear of being left out if we are not sharing our life leading to false isolation, befriending strangers,  Online harassment,  manipulation of thoughts and affecting real relationships.Phew!! That’s quite a number of drawbacks. Don’t you think?

 A friend of mine was telling me we have to stay in shape always and she was trying hard to lose kilos. I asked her why?  Her fiance told her someone was looking beautiful on social media and she paused.  I could sense her insecurity. She asked me you feel the same?  I pondered and thought, my husband once mentioned that one woman was dressed so horribly and posted so many pictures on daily basis. Hmmm, I arched my eyebrow thinking he noticed, huh. I blinked my eyes and said “well, no, I don’t think so”. No, no I brushed it off, but that thought lingered. 

I am not against social media, it is excellent way to revive and preserve relationships. For businesses it is a cheap and effective way to enhance their brand image and gain customers. For politicians it is source to garner votes and spread their message to the public. Movie stars find it easier to promote their movies and endorsements.

Moderation is the key! We have to avoid addiction to these apps as there are many opportunities we are missing around us in real world while we are hooked to our devices. Do actual face to face interaction and read the person more accurately. Nurture interests and develop them. Teach youngsters to differentiate between substance and trash. Please DO NOT share inappropriate content and preserve your private moments with your loved ones. It is a humble request. Real relationships can never replace the relationships on social media.

Time to think about it mon amis!

Keep smiling and take care till I get back:). Please do share your valuable contributions to this topic below.

Fizz