Ping!
A
couple of decades ago, it was the postman’s cycle bell which resonated as the
sound that depicted ‘staying connected’. Then it became the telephone rings and
today, it is just a ‘Ping!’.
Never before in our recorded history,
have we been more connected. How many of our grandparents would have got the
chance to meet their child hood friends after their thirties, even our parents
for that matter? We know where each of them are and what they are up to through
a simple ping!
These days, even if a person goes abroad,
it doesn’t feel they are as much far. You ‘like’ their happiness, ‘poke’ to
remind them and ‘comment’ to show your approval or concern.
Of the greatest gifts the social
media has given us is the ability to say and be heard. It takes away loneliness
without the need of being in the middle of a crowd. Twitter is the classic
example.
Another fascinating fact is that the
social media has eliminated the social awkwardness from our relations. Put two
strangers together and in 5 minutes, they would have run out of topics to talk
about. Had those two met after having met on some social media platform
earlier, Facebook for instance, the conversation can go on and on.
But the day we start preferring 2D
images to real meets, then ping starts sounding like the death knell for human
relations!
Arun
Babu.
