The citizens in the nation state are a myth while the netizens in the cyberspace is the reality. And some of us are still wrestling with this development not knowing where we really belong. My humble effort here is to try answer some of those questions that disturb me from time to time. Here come the queries. How growth of communication and technology has influenced my life? Also talk about how the electronic culture gets manifested in some of the very recent developments in my society. Have I come to terms with it? Do I feel the need for running away from all this or if I should immerse completely in it? Can I ever stay away from electronic culture and claim to actively participate in the society that I am part of? Where does the society exist now? The effort is here to share some of the anxieties.
The friend is not necessarily a friend in the ‘friend in need is a friend indeed’ sense. This is weird. But I am in touch with many people on face book. And I feel comfortable. If they were right infront of me, I would not have had the courage to extend my hand for their friendship. In a way I am able to hide the inferior aspects of my being when interacting on face book. Social networking sites as convenient ways of escapism.
The willing surrendering of privacy, things close to you to the whole world is a disgusting thought. But sometimes I feel that I am doing the same. By letting others know the kind of films and books that you love, all my secrets are told. But then does the projected personality have been truly representative of my self… no. The likes and dislikes on the virtual sphere are conditioned by demands placed on your personality by the virtual society. The virtual sphere expects you to be responsive to the myriad developments happening in that space. It is a prerequisite to think fast, to decide whether to go with the tide or not. Cyber space is vulnerable to panic attacks and it ‘pokes’ you to ‘share’ the panic.
It will be somewhat interesting to have a sense of the Anna Hazare movement for the JLB (Jan Lokpal Bill). Social networking sites like Facebook played a huge part in the so-called ‘success’ of the movement. To quote Arvind Kejrival (the architect of the movement) from an interview dated on August 31,2011 in ‘the Hindu’ “ we had planned a single rally on January 30 at the Ramlila Maidan. But because we connected on Facebook, we were able to conduct simultaneous rallies in 64 cities”. SMS texting also played a critical role. They sent out two crore SMS text messages and got 50000 missed calls. Though it is partly true that in india facebook has a predominant urban following, it may be argued that concerted social action for good or evil can be generated through it. The experience of UK is a different story, as the lightning speed of the message transfer and the meaning lost in each transaction led to riots. But in Libya and Egypt helping people to come together and voice their dreams for the homeland.
These panic attacks in the social networking sites can manifest on a personal level as well. For instance I ran out of facebook for life twice. Your effort is to be a part of the community without making much of an uproar. But then you are mentioned, poked, suggested and asked hell lot of uncomfortable questions like how are you and where were you all these years? I paid the price for not being a digital native when my confessions to certain individuals were widely read and commented on by social scientists in the site.
The notion of what is public and what is private is changing, certainly, when communication devices become ubiquitous, when living spaces are shared, when intellectual and social living spaces--spaces that we truly inhabit to find meaning in life--also become shared. Is this a connection here to the work you're doing with the hostels? Is there a connection here to the notion of "Occupy Wallstreet," the protest that's been going on across the US in main cities over the last month or so? What does it mean when we occupy a space? What does it mean when the spaces that we occupy are infringed upon, or rules are put in place that don't seem conducive to the ways in which we occupy?
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising to hear that you were running away for life out of the face book!! If you honestly believe that your privacy is being encroached upon in the virtual world, you better make your post very confidential--the options of which are available right there. Please do not post your "confessions" to certain individuals in a public domain and make it available to everyone!
ReplyDelete