Social Networking

Social Networking

Today, June 6, 2012, a very event is happening in Internet. Internet Protocol IPv6 is being launched. This enables humanity to enjoy the internet without the “Houseful” board for a long time to come.Internet will have an address capacity of 340,000,000,000,000,000,000(340 trillion trillion trillion) addresses.


When I went on net surfing today I was surprised to know that there are more than 260 sites of what we call as Social networking sites like Face Book,Twitter. (Including our dear IL). Hundreds of social networking site exist, the most popular one is- Face Book. And the survey says it has some more than eight Hundred million members. It would be the third largest society of human beings behind China and India.

I was wondering what is the impact of such sites on the different sections of the society like seniors, Gen Y and so on.
In a recent case a U.S. Court severely punished a 20year old student.

The crime?

He posted a video of his hostel roommate in twitter. The roommate committed suicide. The argument that there was no malafide intention and the student was not aware of the consequences was not accepted by the court.
Nature has made humans as social beings, the ones who would live in groups communicating, interacting, and affecting the others and being affected by others in the group.

We communicate through various methods of communication. We are always on the lookout for improving them. Face to face conversation, Handwritten letter or card, Social Networking. (E-mail, Social Network sites, Skype) are just a few methods of communication with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Face to face conversation includes all the subtle nuances of facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures. The disadvantage is both parties must be available to talk.
Hand writing in Letter will be Warm and personal and the disadvantage is takes time to write and days to reach the recipient.

E-Mail: It can be composed and delivered quickly and the disadvantage is that Emotion is often lacking-or easy to misinterpret. No one answers e-mails immediately.

Using the phone is also too, time consuming-especially since we have to call one person at a time and some will not be at home or available to talk when we want to talk.

Enter social networking, which appears to be the best way to keep in touch.
What are the social networking sites and why have they become so popular?

A social networking site is a web site that allows users to interact or share information including photos with a selected group of people who may be known sometimes only on line or virtual friends. Many find it a convenient way to share photos, and to have a chat with their friends as writing a letter is too time consuming, and would have to wait for their reply and it is also expensive to make copies of photos, down load files etc. It is one of the great steps humanity has taken in the 20th century.

Is it good to be active in such sites?

Similar questions have appeared in the past and I am sure, will appear infuture also whenever human race takes a major step in technology.
Like the questions that were asked when telephone was invented, when steam enginewas invented, when automobiles were invented, when mobile phones, e mail were invented.

Probably for the same reason of uncertainty Gurus did not adopt writing as a mode of preserving knowledge, but preferred reciting,memory and oral communication. We all know Vedas were transmitted over generations not by writing but by hearing, reciting and memorising.

Being active in Social Networking sites have got it’s up and down sides.
On the upside, instant cost and time effective communication, sharing of knowledge, having a feeling of being in the circle, freedom to express one’s views without much fear of embarrassment to self and the others, collective wisdom etc., make these websites very effective tools.

On the down side obsession with the site, unwanted social tensions, falling into traps by unscrupulous strangers, losing privacy if one is not careful etc., make us think twice about being associated with thesites.

Social networking sites are one of the powerful tools of modern e-society.
Like any other powerful tool, it can do enormous good if used with caution and care and can cause enormous damage if used without caution and care.
You may lose your valuable privacy and ID if you are careless and divulge critical personal details and identity. Other details-for instance, your e-mail address, your date of birth, or your phone number-couldleave you open to harassment, bullying, or identity theft. Yet many people readily divulge such information on their social networking page. So if one is not careful, one’s profile information, photos, status updates (short messages to everyone on your list of friends), and comments (your replies to others status updates) could reveal too much. For example-they might reveal such things as where you live,when you are (and are not) at home, where you work, or where you go, and your address along with a brief post such as we leave for vacation tomorrow” is enough to tell a thief where and when to strike.

You may be subjected to emotional disturbances if you are careless in choosing people whom you want to interact in these websites.

You may become an addict and the site can consume a lot of your productive time for unproductive purposes which can affect your performance in various aspects of life, if you are careless in your time management.

Take care of your image and reputation. It can cause permanent impact on your personal image and life if you are careless in your presentations of your personality thoughts words, deeds, information and images. People tend to forget that once they post something online, it is in the public domain, even if they specify that their status updates are to be shared with Friends Only’, they have no control over what those friends might do with the information.

Anything posted on a social network site should be viewed as public or as material that can easily be madepublic.

What we can do?

Be thoroughly familiar with the privacy settings on your social networking, and use them.
Restrict access to your status updates and photos to people you know and trust.
Regularly review your page, and ask yourself whether anything we have revealed could be used by unscrupulous individuals to locate you or to steal your identity.

Even among our friends do not post information through the site that could violate your privacy or the privacy of another person.

Ensure you always and properly sign out after your visit to the site. Anyone can sit down and start making posts in your name on that site.
Technological advancements have always won ultimately and we accept them, enjoying the benefits of course with the necessary Do’s and Don’ts. This applies to social networking sites also. They are here to stay. We have to adapt ourselves to this tool of communication and make the best use of it.

Those who use with caution and care will enjoy the benefits of these sites.
Those who do not adapt will be lift out by the advancing society.

 

Dear Viswamitra,

Thanks for your considered and detailed analysis of the shift in communication systems of humanity. I agree that GenY has moved away from internet to mobile applications. The tremendous pace of advancement both in hardware and software leaves even the most advanced geek behind.

You might have noticed Samsung Galaxy3 was sold nine million pieces before release. Where are we heading to?

Thanks for your visit and the knowledgeable contribution.