Will you be my FRIEND???

Today, if one needs to get in touch with his or her friend, there are multiple options available- phone, email, sms, and even social networking sites. Social networking sites are websites where one can create ‘profiles’, add friends, comment each other, write testimonials, and blog. Popular social networking sites are Myspace, Orkut, Facebook, Friendster, etc. Most of these sites started in US, but they have won over the Indian youth. So much so that, Orkut was named the Youth Icon by Mtv for 2007. But is this ‘Icon’ really safe?

It’s relatively easy to create a profile on such sites. It doesn’t require one to be tech-savvy, and the membership is free. This has attracted majority of our youth to join these sites, to keep in touch with their current friends, search for the old ones, and to make new ones. But what exactly drives us to create an account in the first place? An average Indian teenager has many things on his/her mind. There is school or college, homework, assignments, projects, coaching classes, extra-curricular activities, and so on. The teen is burdened with so much work, that interaction between friends is limited. Here, these sites come to their rescue. They help in maintaining their social network and even increasing it, however only virtually. A boon for otherwise socially awkward teenager.

Apart from the academic examinations, today’s youth has to give another kind of a test. The popularity test. It is much of a necessity for teenagers to adhere to the popular norms and trends, just to fit in. These sites provide the ‘space’ for individuals to express themselves, chalk out their likes- dislikes, and their thoughts and views on varied topics. This is also the ‘space’ where one implements their impression management techniques. The profile of an individual speaks for him/her, so, it is of utmost importance for that person to create an appropriate impression. One may upload pictures, videos; exaggerate one’s qualifications or reading prowess, or the type of music that they listen to. These sites are like popularity contests, where the number of friend one has, or the number of testimonials, determines the winner.

But what many love about these sites is the privacy that it provides. Essentially, they are open to public, but these sites give teenagers to engage in their networking without any supervision from their parents. It’s a kind of privacy that every teenager yearns for. But this privacy is non existent. Anyone can read one’s profile and have access to their private information, friends, pictures etc. It’s a playground for sex offenders, which questions the safety of these sites. India is just waking up to cyber crime, and much worse, cyber bullying among adolescents. Fake profiles, hate groups and embarrassing blogs are just some of the means of bullying that takes place.

Apart from the compromised safety, these sites are creating socially inept youth, for them initiating and maintaining relationships is limited to the virtual world. It creates a feeling of loneliness, as it lacks the warmth of physical interaction. It makes one lethargic emotionally. It has become essential for research in this field to determine the increasing popularity of these sites among the youth and what is it that attracts them there. It is important to get them back to reality, leaving behind the lonely virtual existence.