Web of friendship
Orkut, Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites (SNS) may be looked at sceptically after the recent murder of a Mumbai boy but they continue to be the playground of Netizens, says Anurag Yadav

The gory killing of Mumbai teenager Adnan Patrawala has shaken up denizens of the virtual world. The murder of a gullible young boy has brought into sharp focus the growing popularity of social networking sites which are becoming a part of every urban young person’s life.

What are these social networking sites and why are they capturing the imagination of the young? “Social networks provide a platform for people to make friends or get information or learn a new skill. Groups of people who share common interests and activities get together on the Internet for chat-ups and exchange of ideas and gossip. The worldwide web is a medium for meeting. These sites are akin to the coffee shop sessions of an earlier generation,” says Hemant Saklani, a young software engineer.

Very popular

The sheer scope and reach of this virtual medium is mind-boggling and the anonymity it provides has only increased its popularity with the youth. Orkut, one of the most popular sites, claims to have over 67 million users around the world.

Of late many networking websites have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The plan to kidnap Adnan — that culminated in his murder — was hatched on Orkut. Sometime ago Orkut was targeted for indecent material posted on its community pages. Another popular site Facebook was in the news recently when its creator Mark Zuckerberg was accused of stealing ideas from a similar site, ConnectU.

Says child psychologist Anshu Gupta, “Social networking sites are growing at a rapid pace. Students in urban and even semi-urban area know about them. Parents, eager to make kids internet-savvy, encourage them to browse the web and use these sites. But lack of monitoring can sometimes be detrimental for impressionable minds.”

However, Arpit, an avid blogger, tends to disagree. He writes in one of his blogs, “Those who point fingers at virtual communities like Orkut and Facebook are computer and Internet-challenged and want to resist change. But they are fighting a losing battle. Technology will triumph in the end and leave them far, far behind in some Jurassic Park.”

Global village

The target base of all social networking sites are the new net-savvy users who consider the world a global village and want to connect to like-minded people. There could be a Brazilian student studying in London making online friends with an Indian professional working in Dubai because they share similar interests in light and shadow photography. Such a thing is made possible only through a social networking website.

Dipen Desai, an NID student, is just completing his course in lifestyle design and says that he looks forward to his growing contacts in Linkedin.com. The site helps find past and present colleagues and classmates quickly and it also powers people’s careers by connecting them to prospective employers in their field of choice.

“It is a democratic way of reaching out to the world of professionals. If there are some who use it for the wrong purposes, it’s like any other misconduct that must be checked. Linking stray incidents to technology is a facile and silly thing,” says Dipen.

Social commentator Prem Singh blames incorrect and negligent upbringing for most ills that are supposed to spring from the Net. “In these changing times it is difficult to keep kids away from the cyber world. But at the same time it is the job of parents to warn them about not becoming too cosy with anyone on the Internet. If they still do then they are to blame not the social networking website.”

A distraction

“The flipside,” says Anshu Gupta, “is that these sites could end up as a distraction from serious work. A majority of the users end up using them to chat with friends during working hours, or make new friends or just browse through information provided by other people. That’s why many workplaces disallow use of these sites during office hours.”

With so many social networking sites popping up, what makes one stand out from the clutter? Most users agree when they say that the key factors deciding a site’s popularity are its user-friendliness properties, ability to provide multiple features and add-on services like integrated e-mail and online shopping.

Most users go to these sites because they are looking for a specific person or someone with similar interests. Though the sites have their share of jerks, the last word comes from young users themselves. Says Vrinda, a first year student of Delhi University, “You can’t ban a site because there are some crazy nuts and dangerous villains visiting it. It’s like saying that all kitchen knives should be banned because people can murder each other with them.”— NF