Why do we waste our time on inane stuff.. Like checking out FB ? Have you really thought of how much time is being spent (read lost) on FB on a daily basis. FB claims that the average user spends 20 minutes on FB daily, whereas the average US citizen spends more than 40 minutes.. Hmm, the US is certainly overboard.. 40 or 20 minutes doesn't seem like much, but it is actually 25% of our online time. Boom, now that is really something.
What is it about our other people's lives that interests us so much ? Is FB another form of gossip mongering - only in this case, the person who instigates it is the person who posts. Well FB definitely titillates the senses of the average voyeur, who is content looking at other people's lives through their opinions and photos and what-not.
A renowned Malayalam director likened FB critics who post their first day reviews of movies, to the people who scribble obscenities and pictures on walls of public toilets and trains. Well, any one has an opinion, and it is his right to express it. It is left to you to accept it or not. It is like hearing gossip from the grapevine, and choosing whether to believe it or not. This brings us to the next big keyword - 'authenticity'.
Can you believe everything you read on FB? Only as much as you trust the person posting it. Well, the person might have shared it from someone who got it from someone else and so on. So one bad chink in the chain can break it all, isn't it ? People tend to misuse it, as has been seen from many incidents. Fake news is a trending topic in itself. It can be used to good effect also, like used in the Chennai deluge recently. But it is like this with anything else - when in a position of power, it is left to the individual on how to use it - for his own good, or for others good. I wonder how many of us think before clicking that Like or Share button. Have our brains been programmed into clicking that button unconsciously ? The only reasoning that might be happening inside is for looking at who shared it - is it a reliable source ? Looking at FB news feeds, I find that this discretion has not been applied in many cases.
Aren't there better ways to catch up with people. Like calling them or having a face-to-face chat. Of course, you can use Messenger for that, isn't it ? Now don't get me started on WhatsApp...
FB has become a social stigma, kind of like cigarettes were in the past years in colleges. You were so uncool if you were not sporting one on your lips. If you didn't smoke - in which age were you living ? You know it is bad for you, a waste of time, money and health - still you do it. Finally at least for some, good sense prevails, but then it is too late and you have wasted most of your life at the wrong end of a cig. Sounds familiar, ain't it. If you don't post your latest selfie, or where you have checked in to, or what you think about the latest buzzword - in which age are you living dude ? And about the people that do it - why do they do it ? Is it another form of Narcissism ?
All bad things ? Not quite.. Besides all this, there is good stuff too.. FB is a treasure trove of information, but you need to be patient and sift through all the irrelevant stuff. Needle in a haystack, anyone ?
And this is the typical human failing and where most people fall. Most people waste their time looking at the irrelevant stuff.
The man behind is too cool (not media savvy) - 99% of FB stock is no small amount to be giving up. Wanting to change the world is nothing new, but actually attempting to do it and succeeding is something else.
Usage of FB in disaster / unprecedented situations have been great - a case in point being the recent Chennai floods.
Cant but think of the quote - 'With great power, comes great responsibility'. This is your gift, but your curse as well. Unfortunately, the power has been unleashed to the people, who use it to their benefit most of the time. Sooner or later, there will be an ad campaign where we can see SRK or Sallu bhai walk in with his swagger and say 'Use your FB wisely' (I guess Aamir Khan would be the better choice considering his recent online escapades, but the ad world wants only the former).
What is it about our other people's lives that interests us so much ? Is FB another form of gossip mongering - only in this case, the person who instigates it is the person who posts. Well FB definitely titillates the senses of the average voyeur, who is content looking at other people's lives through their opinions and photos and what-not.
A renowned Malayalam director likened FB critics who post their first day reviews of movies, to the people who scribble obscenities and pictures on walls of public toilets and trains. Well, any one has an opinion, and it is his right to express it. It is left to you to accept it or not. It is like hearing gossip from the grapevine, and choosing whether to believe it or not. This brings us to the next big keyword - 'authenticity'.
Can you believe everything you read on FB? Only as much as you trust the person posting it. Well, the person might have shared it from someone who got it from someone else and so on. So one bad chink in the chain can break it all, isn't it ? People tend to misuse it, as has been seen from many incidents. Fake news is a trending topic in itself. It can be used to good effect also, like used in the Chennai deluge recently. But it is like this with anything else - when in a position of power, it is left to the individual on how to use it - for his own good, or for others good. I wonder how many of us think before clicking that Like or Share button. Have our brains been programmed into clicking that button unconsciously ? The only reasoning that might be happening inside is for looking at who shared it - is it a reliable source ? Looking at FB news feeds, I find that this discretion has not been applied in many cases.
Aren't there better ways to catch up with people. Like calling them or having a face-to-face chat. Of course, you can use Messenger for that, isn't it ? Now don't get me started on WhatsApp...
FB has become a social stigma, kind of like cigarettes were in the past years in colleges. You were so uncool if you were not sporting one on your lips. If you didn't smoke - in which age were you living ? You know it is bad for you, a waste of time, money and health - still you do it. Finally at least for some, good sense prevails, but then it is too late and you have wasted most of your life at the wrong end of a cig. Sounds familiar, ain't it. If you don't post your latest selfie, or where you have checked in to, or what you think about the latest buzzword - in which age are you living dude ? And about the people that do it - why do they do it ? Is it another form of Narcissism ?
All bad things ? Not quite.. Besides all this, there is good stuff too.. FB is a treasure trove of information, but you need to be patient and sift through all the irrelevant stuff. Needle in a haystack, anyone ?
And this is the typical human failing and where most people fall. Most people waste their time looking at the irrelevant stuff.
The man behind is too cool (not media savvy) - 99% of FB stock is no small amount to be giving up. Wanting to change the world is nothing new, but actually attempting to do it and succeeding is something else.
Usage of FB in disaster / unprecedented situations have been great - a case in point being the recent Chennai floods.
Cant but think of the quote - 'With great power, comes great responsibility'. This is your gift, but your curse as well. Unfortunately, the power has been unleashed to the people, who use it to their benefit most of the time. Sooner or later, there will be an ad campaign where we can see SRK or Sallu bhai walk in with his swagger and say 'Use your FB wisely' (I guess Aamir Khan would be the better choice considering his recent online escapades, but the ad world wants only the former).
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