The Multi Lane Road

First  day  at college  or  a  first  at  office,  after  the  initial  hi  and  hello,  what  is  that one  thing  you  ask  your  new  friends ?

“Are  you  there  on  Facebook?”  Or  Twitter, Or  LinkedIn,  Or  Instagram,  Or  Google +  and  the  list  can  go  on.  No  way  I  am exaggerating  the  fact  that  today,  instead  of  being  friends  in  person,  everybody  wants  to  be  associated  to  you  through  these  social  networking  sites.

Initially  meant  to  bring  people  closer  and  making  the  world  smaller, today, these  platforms  have  become  a  means  to  connect  with  people  even  living  next  door. People  have  fast  lives  and  do  not  want  to  miss  on  events  and  happenings  around them  even  on  the  go. Hence  these sites  have  1,145,000,000+  users  and  still  counting ( facebook  and  twitter  users  combined – both  of  them  being  the  most  popular  social  networking  platforms).

But  that’s  not  my  concern. What  gives  me  stress  is  the  fact  that  people  do  not  stick  to  a  single  platform. Quoting  my  example, I  can  say  that  its  like  a   ride  on  multiple  roads  and  hence  you  are  prone  to  be  confused  and  tired  at  the  end.  I have been using facebook for  a  while  now. 3 years to be precise.  Recently  I  revived  my  account  on  Twitter and  created  one  on Google+  as  well.  Needless  to  say, I  exist  on  LinkedIn,  Skype  and Instagram ( primarily  because  my  friends  use  it  to  share  their  pictures )  as  well. And  Gmail  or  Yahoo  should  not  even  be  mentioned ( they  are necessities  and  not  luxury).

Everytime  I  log  in  to  my  PC, I  am  forced  to  check  on  all  of  the  above.  Otherwise  I  am  labelled  as  a  misfit  in  my  Tech- Savvy  friends.  It  has  become  mandatory  to  tweet  random thoughts  or  else  you’ll  lose  your  followers  on  Twitter, ‘like’  photographs  on  Facebook  and  what  not.

Whoever  said  that  social  networking  was  designed  to  make  the  world  one  should  now  see  users  driving  a  multi-lane  highway,  juggling   their  time  to  show  their  online  presence.

And  by  the  way,  you  are  always  free  to  follow  me  on  Twitter 😉