FxxxxxxK

If I were to punish few of those able to find this article I will simply cut your wires for a day—no LAN, No Wi-Fi No Mobile data and no neighbor’s Wi-Fi too!! And then even Google will not be able to bless you. You will be deprived of your mailbox, online shopping, business queries, stock markets, banking info and other essential information drones which find you before you ask for them actually. The torture does not end here as you will be off the Facebook too!
The most read book in the world “Facebook”, today also holds a distinction of the most spoken “F” letter word …second only to the most popular four letters! Since both end with K, to avoid any controversy I will use the most IN acronym “FB”. From social animals, human beings have become social media animals. We love the animation in the status updates, emotions in the pic uploaded and art in the mobile uploads. The word “Share” has a become viral, “ Like” means a  follower , “comment” is akin to plebiscite and friends can turn “unfriend” on a click and writing on somebody’s “wall” does not mean any revenue to paint industry! The FB is for sure mightier than FBI when it comes to information. It is in fact a live human encyclopedia ever expanding with “invites”.

I wonder on the myopic vision of Zuckerberg when he named it as “Facebook” it has off course overgrown its name and apart from face to toe it can feature any moment and sometimes every moment like a reality show. From trivial incidences to genuine injustice, you may vent out on the keyboard and broadcast to your friends..Everything can be punched “what’s on your mind?” Then there is a sublime pleasure in adulations. The joy of the “Likes” and “comments” is actually more than the emotion of the status updateà hundred percent of the times.

Humans forget and FB connects, life has become so easy. One has to work deliberately hard or extremely creative in justifying to skip “friend’s” birthday or anniversary .Everyone becomes viral on special days like B ’days in his “friend list” …“Timeline” speaks for you and it is actually gratifying to look back on each of the “comments” before wrapping the day, even if they are as short as “Hey HBD…”. Digital age, thus, keeps analog emotions flowing in the skeleton of community. A “notification” of “tagging” is worth visiting as it may bring lost memories alive!!

And then the “News feeds” thanks to over smart phones…no time is idle time. The screen is like a magical crystal ball and we can see so much of what others are doing. Actually there can be over smart phones too but any phone which can handle the data load of FB is a smart phone from utility point of view and hence, now I know why so many Chinese and Korean companies are making a huge draw on low cost handsets. Coming back to “News Feeds”, it is like virtual kitty parties without the pains of hospitality. A proven survey shows that those who read newspaper online on their handsets early morning also check FB with equal angst to supplement their bowel moments.

While the geographies, the distances, the boundaries, the cultures, the time zones all melt into a status update, the best part of FB is the right to expression it gives to each and every individual. For somebody having a ‘Gobhi parantha and Chai@dhaba, on a fogged out highway” is a proud expression and some find solace in telling the “check in “ and “check out” at five star hotels only. Everybody can choose to be happy in their own way and express too! No wonder FB has inspired so many to join.

While you may continue adding new members in friends list, the caveats are very basic -remember to restore the ability to meet and interact in person after all we humans are much more than a virtual entry. Having a long list and no one by your side when you need is of little consequence. While we may continue wishing each other on festivals and special occasions it is essential we celebrate with full girth and not only pose for a mobile upload. When we go out on a vacation, we should enjoy every moment and capture memories in mind and soul, rather than scrambling for that picture perfect frame for those real time FB updates. If you do not upload your selfies does not mean you love yourself any less. It is also absolutely okay if you still love watching that sun set over a cup of tea or socializing at a common adda , than playing candy crush or farmville.

Oops how can I miss this! BTW you may continue stalking your exes too, without being visible in any visitor list….one thing which killed Orkut!!

Disclaimer: The author of the article suffers from amnesia who often forgets what he preach!

Upcoming Profile: My dog ZEUS / looking for a life partner…