As a fellow Gen Y I too would like to admit that I have been consumed by this disturbing addiction that shook the world to its inner core, and is almost as bad as smoking if not worse. It is fatally addictive and once you are hooked no form of nicotine is able to stabilize you until you set your mind to it. Now I know that you are all perplexed as to what this addiction is and in fact most of you are probably on this drug right now while you are reading this article, probably high on it and you don’t even know it.
I am talking about Facebook. Yes you read right Facebook. The only place where people are allowed to write on walls without it being considered vandalism, where strangers can causally “poke” other without feeling violated or coming off as a pedophile and the only place where we let the amount of “likes” determine how loved and cherished we feel by our fellow peers.
This networking site when initially created in September 2005 by Harvard university student Mark Zuckerberg who took the world by a force so strong that even Yoda was perplexed. It was practically considered social etiquette to have a Facebook account, I remember being in high school and feeling like an outcast because I refused to succumb to this form of temptation. However being a pre-pubescent teenager I already had to deal with pimples, lack of breasts and the constant need to “look pretty”, the last thing that I needed was to feel like a pariah. So I am not ashamed to confess that I eventually did give in to the “Facebook addiction” just like Eve gave in and ate the forbidden fruit.
This networking site brought about with it a whole new era of change and was created in order to “connect people” from any corner of the world, allow acquaintances who met at occasions to become friends and ensure that close- friends are able to stay in contact. However I couldn’t help but wonder was this networking site our secret nemesis? Like superman’s kryptonite? Is Facebook really connecting people or is it subtly but inevitably causing us to move away from each other?
In a generation where children as young five have a better understanding of how to use an iPad better than their parents, it is inescapable that upcoming technology plays a massive role in our lives and is bound to bring about change. However is this change always good? Due to the easy accessibility made available by Facebook people are more lazy in terms of contacting each other, we find ourselves resolving to the use of little “bubble heads” as our main mode of communication rather than physically meeting up for a catch up session.
Although this form of communication reduces the time, effort and distance needed to contact one and other it is ironically creates a gap between the best of friends over time.
Now I am no saint, and as a former Facebookaholic (who is currently seeking rehab) I sit on my chair and idly browse through my news feed awed by the life that the people around me are living as my newsfeed constantly updates me with their latest pictures, status updates and upcoming events. However what we fail to notice is that rather than sitting on that couch and obsessing over how amazing other people’s lives are, we are forgetting about our own. Each and every one of us has the ability to write our own story.
So instead of sitting on your computer and abusing that refresh button watching other people write their life stories go out for a cup of coffee with an old friend or even play a game of monopoly with the family, because one day when you will be asked to publish your own story, you want to make sure that it is one worth reading.
Strategic Chaos 