The curious case of 'Social Networking Sites'

Cyberspaces, a tool which has made many people hooked on to it endlessly has been a subject of constant debate in recent years. It can be safely assumed that a person who keeps himself secluded from Cyberspace is like a man who prefers bullock cart to car. With the advent of this 'Internatic' era, we are blessed with infinite inventions Emails, Blogs, Websites and of course the numerous Social Networking Sites. Some of the popular Social Networking Sites are Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, Bigadda, My Space, Tumblr, Hi5 and the list is ceaseless. Still in a diverse country such as ours some brains still come up with a question that 'What is a Social Networking Site?' 

In a common language 'Social Networking Sites' are referred to as web-based services which allows individuals to construct  a public profile supporting a wide range of interests enabling them to communicate  with other users with whom they share a connection. The nature of the connection may vary from site to site wherein some cater to diverse audience while others attract people in a different manner. The Sites also vary in their offerings like blogs, photo-video sharing etc.
There have been plenty of debates and deliberations regarding merits and demerits of these sites across the world. But one thing is very sure that they are here to stay and with that its usage assumes all the significance. The driving factor behind these sites has been the human tendency to connect and communicate with other people. It has been a foregone conclusion that 'Man is a social animal' and hence it is in their genes to connect with the known and unknown to display their feelings and emotions. From a psychological perspective, the virtual world helps to keep your super ego miles away. You can always be who you are rather pretending or disguising one's own true identity.
 These sites also enable a person to expand his business with the global exposure he gets. In addition to this, it helps a person communicate with efficiency and go out of the social boundaries.

On the flip side, like the old adage 'Every coin has two sides', there are some issues that crop up with these facilities. Cyber stalking is firmly rooted of those. One can never be sure of the profile being real or fake. Sometimes the fake profiles contain some private details of the person whose profile has been created this way. Another thing adding fuel to the fire is the problem of hacking and identities being stolen. It instigates misuse of important information and data. The ever increasing threat of hacking has germinated into a serious issue these days.
But keeping all these elements aside, it is a compulsive obsessive disorder found generally in teenagers and youngsters due to the extreme involvement and attachment with it. The fondness for these sites has reached its crescendo with many people living in an 'imaginative world'. It certainly turns out to be time and money consuming due to useless chatting which differs with individuals. You need to be moderate user of this to prevent yourself from becoming a addict of it. A judicious use will always be fruitful. Some of the golden precautions are like never put your personal information like address, contact details, pictures, videos etc.
It is upto you to save yourself from drowning into the swamp. Its again you who can experience the pain and agony if its not handled with care and diligence.
           

A Smile that says it all.!!

He was in front of me in complete shambles but yet his smile was captivating, friendly and full of warmth. He is a fruit vendor but there was some sort of contentment on his face which made me realise that a sense of satisfaction and contentment is a prerequisite for staying happy for most of the times if not all the time.
There's so much hard work, harsh circumstances and very little leisure when you do such an activity for livelihood but the glee on his face was very easy to notice. Someone has very rightly said that ''life's truths mostly reveal themselves in small, insignificant ways; often through inconsequential people in seemingly innocuous settings.'' I second that view point.!

Happy responses to life's difficulties are often confounding but they always encourage you to deal any problem without any stress. There is always a inner core from where each one of us draws energy to live life through the hard times. A smile reflects what's inside us and communicates our desire to experience connectedness with each other. Contentment will be the result of indulging in such moments. Leading a mere existence is not the real essence of life.Despite that there is a simple understanding among these people that connecting with each other is the way to find contentment in their lives.

On the other hand of the spectrum, the new generation or the modern world is marching endlessly to fulfill an ever demanding chain of needs. There is forgetfulness in the behaviour, little attempt to connect but deep down they also have a reservoir of emotions waiting to explode. Often we are caught in this maddening urge to move ahead of each other but in the end what we get is 'miserable success.'
It is said that human beings manifest in different forms but it has been proven that life forms of all kinds respond to warmth and make an effort to connect. It must be this connectedness that beckons me to the beaming smile of a total stranger on a busy Thursday.