A Cynical Approach to Social Media

The dawn of a new era of technology at the turn of the century has seen a rise in the internet industry with emergence of various platforms. In the midst of this massive shift, came the idea of virtual networking commonly known as social media. Social Media keeps you updated about the goings-on in the lives of your friends and family and even celebrities, that too without meeting them. Doesn't that sound good? It gives you power of expression on a public forum instead of what would earlier be recorded in a journal or wedding album. So how does it help you? (It was rhetorical question in case you're wondering what the answer to that is!!)

So you log onto Facebook or Twitter, enter details about your personal life (vital stats in case you are a model), let people invade your privacy and take you to another level of networking all together. I remember the good old days when the only way people socialized is by hosting a dinner party (today replaced by Google hangouts). It is easy to say that social media is a very powerful tool. But for whom? For the unstructured companies which thrive on websites like Facebook which act as a curator of your personal information? Or is it just a dump of profiles for you to eye sledge on?

It does give the ability to connect with friends you have lost touch with but honestly, how many such friends do you really wish to be in touch with? Earlier, college was about revamping your image and leading a new life but thanks to social media, you are judged by the number of people on your friends list and how cool your display picture is. Does this give those people the leverage to begin afresh?

To top it all, brands target you based on your interest, compelling you to shop online. Shopping online – a question still yet to be answered, is it need-based shopping or want-based? But that’s a different subject altogether.

I happened to read an article about Google’s newest invention – a boon to networking, an attempt to kill all the giants in the smart phone industry called Google Glass. I bet its revolutionary to come up with such an imaginary product which allows you to see what the other person is seeing … but how often would you want to do that?

All I am trying to say is that the generation of today may or may not understand the need to connect virtually; in fact this has become a tool for the youth to connect and communicate with the unknown which paints a dangerous picture of the future. Social media is a tool and can be used well but there is always a flip side to it. Are we using social media well enough? Are we throwing away our traditional ways of connecting? Is it necessary to know everyone personally?

Do drop in your answers.

PS: You are welcome to disagree ;)