| "Words can't describe me", is how Adnan | | | | of humans. It is that of communication. People |
| Patrawala, 16 yr old teenager from Mumbai, India | | | | living in extreme corners of the world are seen to |
| had described himself on his Orkut profile. | | | | be getting married, friends from far-off places are |
| However, his kidnappers and murderers got to | | | | able to keep in touch with each other and lovers |
| know a little more of him and ensnared him into a | | | | from two parts of the world stay connected with |
| trap which ultimately led to the death of the | | | | each other's emotional needs. These help us make |
| young boy. This is perhaps an extreme example | | | | new friends, stay in touch with the old ones and |
| of the social impact of these social networking | | | | let us know more about the persons we care... |
| sites such as Orkut, Facebook, MySpace and | | | | their likes, dislikes, interests and emotions. |
| Friendster on today's youth. But there is no | | | | There is an element of addictiveness in these |
| denying its presence or its effects in our lives and | | | | sites and the youth are indeed getting endeared |
| minds today. | | | | more and more into this addiction. The most |
| Often these days when we make new friends | | | | appealing thing among these sites is that they |
| we do not ask, "What's your number?" Or | | | | provide a platform for the individuals to express |
| "What's your email id?" Instead we ask, "What's | | | | their views, gives them the freedom of choice |
| your MySpace"? or "Are you on Orkut?" Such is | | | | and expression... from anti-war campaigns to global |
| the impact of these sites on our lives .The way | | | | warming issues, from Harry potter fan clubs to |
| we speak, the way we interact and the way we | | | | Osama bin Laden hate clubs... there is everything |
| think is changing. Words such as scrapping, | | | | for everyone to share and speak about. |
| blogging, teasers---which a few years back | | | | What else could be more appealing than the |
| wouldn't have made any sense to anybody; but | | | | thought of being heard not just by your group of |
| today it's being used with so much spontaneity. | | | | friends but to the whole wide world. And that is |
| As a matter of fact, Google even has links to | | | | where I feel these sites are here to stay. It just |
| sites, which gives the world's most popular | | | | emphasizes the fact that man is a social being and |
| acronyms. It is amusing but that is the way it is. | | | | shall always remain so. |
| However, these sites fulfill a very basic criterion | | | | |