Socializing on the net?

The mushrooming SNSes (Social Networking sites: for the uninitiated) make me wonder if there is something really pleasant about them. Initially, I must admit, the idea seemed intriguing and I went ahead with it, decorating a page with my personal details and preparing to connect with friends, acquaintances and just random strangers.

Within no time, I built up a network and found myself into discussions with old fellows that I couldn’t have imagined meeting in this life. A few months into the usual greetings and chatter and I was fed up. It had to go. I could not figure out what to keep discussing with people who possibly have just one thing in common with you – the school you studied at, when you were in kindergarten.

The mounting numbers of registered members on these friend-circle-expanding hippie websites take me by surprise. Do people really have all that time to socialize with other people? Do they really care so much to keep in touch? Or are they doing it just because everyone else is.

Every time I come across someone who has an easy access to the internet, one question is sure to pop up – so what’s your orkut account? Or the ones more familiar would come up with something like – hey, why ain’t you on orkut?

I don’t have all that time to waste on socializing with those who don’t matter or those I don’t even know; I choose not to be a part of the college politics that my mates often discuss openly on such sites; and I care two hoots about all that inane stuff they discuss.

Having said this, I don’t intend to discourage or dampen the spirit of SNSes, infact it is all very amusing. In a bid to make impressive profiles people bloat their imagination and bring up something which is so unlike them. Others, just copy and paste stuff from different pages. Scrutinize pages of some people you know in real life, many will make you raise eyebrows.

Btw, I forgot to mention, these sites help in a way— whenever you want to know something about someone you find mystically interesting, hunt him/her on these sites. Chances are, you’ll find a lot many revelations because the entire world (well, almost) exists there.