Face to face or on facebook?

The wave of tech magic has swept each and every individual and has also broken down all the communication barriers.Computers,mobiles,cameras and other intelligent gizmos have influenced human beings more than anything else.They are designed to be so immersive and interactive that this generation does not need anything else around them except these gizmos.Moreover, the impact of these gadgets is certainly stricking and ultimate for the youngsters. Some people think that technology is good for the children but look at the result of the same and it will be realized that it is not so. We have discussed about the reason of the same. Controlled and appropriate use of the technology might be good, but the way it has influenced the life of our children is not doing any good to them. I am given to understand that the social networking site like the facebook has a condition that the user should be minimum eighteen years old. If this is true then no child studying in the school should be able to access this site because most of them are less than eighteen years of age. But in reality it is found that maximum of the school children have their account on this site. Even if we ignore the age criteria and discuss about the way these social networking sites are being used by the children  does not lead to a happy situation. The children are spending most of their time on computers under cover of doing some project but it has been observed that many of them are not actually involved in projects but waste their time talking to their net-friend who may not be really known to them. Many cases have been reported in the newspapers that the children had one or the other problem because of the interaction they might have had with the people who emotionally blackmailed them. This is also true that there are many users who do not disclose their identity and mention wrong information about themselves and when the reality is surfaced, the young children get affected by that the most. The language used in the text, is also not refined. Looking back ten to fifteen years earlier, the children used to sort out their problems with other children in the schools only and not fighting on the same issues at home because they were staying away. Now when they can reach to each other through these networking sites, the problem keep on hanging in their mind and they get an opportunity through the sites to blow it out. Many cases are reported in the schools where the children used abusive language for each other and the situation worsened  to the stage that even the parent fought with each other. Not only this, as these sites do not confirm the real identity of the person opening the account.Many people open the account in a fake name and when some problems come, this particular child does not have any knowledge about the same. Not only this, abusive language used for the teachers and fellow students, is doing lot of harm. The problem is that the other children who did not have access to such negatives are also getting an opportunity to read such words which are not good for anyone. In the name of socialisation, the very important phase of the childrens' life is being poisoned by such actions. They are not able to understand but we as adults should control this trend which would not do any good to the children. I have come across a case where the mother of the child is the teacher and the same child does not wish her  teachers` day or on her birthday face to face but does the same through facebook. They both live together in the same house but birthday wishes are conveyed through electronic media. And interestingly the mother is also conveying her thanks through the facebook. Who should be blamed for this situation, we need to get the answer? There have been reports where perturbed mentality people misused the information provided and the photographs uploaded on such sites and that lead to very ackward situation specially in case of the girls.  A proper survey needs to be carried out so that we can know whether social networking sites are doing any good to our children and if not some strict measure should be taken so that the children are saved from the negatives they are facing because of the access to such sites. The government should not let it go into the thin air in the name of freedom of choice of the people specially the children. The adults still can manage themselves because they are emotionally stronger than the children. The results of the survey should be made public and the views of parents and teachers should be given due importance.

If we talk in reference to the adults, there also things are not really very amicable. We have seen people as the facebook friends though they remain with each other for most of the time of the day. This is true for the teachers as well as the parents. I do not understand why you should chat on facebook when you are able to talk face to face. Some people argue that there are certain things which you cannot say to somebody on his/her face. But then also you do not need the support of the networking sites. You can write a letter or talk to the person over telephone which is the better way of conveying your views or the feelings. It has also been found that the people are becoming addicted to such sites and are not able to live without being friendly with the unknown people. The problems of the family which used to remain within the close relatives are becoming the source of discussion among the unknown people also. The people are giving a vent to their frustrations through this mode and in the process making other people frustrated for whom negatives must have been written on these sites. Not only this, fake IDs have lead to other problems also. As mentioned above many of the users have given wrong information about themselves due to which one cannot really know to whom he/she is talking. In one case, when two people met after their long drawn friendship(  I am using this word though the relationship was of different kind) on such sites, they were ashamed seeing each other because the two of them had a very pious relationship in the real life . They both were so much disturbed that it took them a long time to become normal. Such cases cannot be discussed on the public domain and that is the reason people do not come to know about the ill effects of the misuse of the social networking sites.

 We must try to ensure that our children are saved from the wrong happening to them in future due to the so called networking sites which are mushrooming at a fast pace. The children who are not of the legal age should be advised and counselled not to let them be trapped in a quagmire of technology from where there is no escape.The paradox of sitting at home and reaching to the world is taking a toll on this generation.