Befriend with Care

 The world today is moving at quite a fast pace. And what’s moving faster is the overpowering clutches of the social networking sites. They have become one integral part of a major number of the living humans. Some dead too. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram……a storm everywhere!

Well, my take this time is not on how good or bad social networking is for our health, wealth, or whatever. I’ll rather be spending a few paras with the topic ‘Virtual Friendships.

Now, when social networks are our concern then obviously the tag word here is ‘virtual’. And what follows the league is virtual friendship. When asked to me, I’ll always say I kind of don’t like the whole idea of making friends online. But the irony is, a good part of my friend list consists of virtual friends, courtesy Blogging. And for once, I don’t regret that. What I firmly dislike is making random friends. Happening to come across someone’s profile, liking the picture displayed, or may be the ten line intro with more of the heart symbols (<3) than actual words, and then pinging the person to be friends. That’s STUPID. Yes, if you happen to know that person somehow or there is a reason you think you could be friends, say he/she being a part of some organization you want to join, or similar things, then it suits. But just dying to be someone’s friend just because his/her profile is attractive, or just so that you could boast of the figures displaying the number of friends you have, well, I feel sorry for you. In this age of cyber crime, you just don’t know what you might be leading yourself into, trusting someone you don’t actually have a reason to. Seldom does it happen that you ending up finding a really good friend that way. And by that, I don’t mean people are bad.I am one too. But what starts sprouting up is an inclination towards spending a lot of time online, chatting away with the supposed virtual friend, who somehow starts knowing you more than the real ones. We may fail to realize that the things and people in our real world are actually suffering a setback and our negligence. The intensity of the laughs you share with your friend sitting beside her, while you are gossiping about some latest topic, can never be matched up even by the dozens of laughing emojis resting in your chat box.

Having stated the above points, I can never deny the positivity and lessons I have adapted from my Blog mates. Each one of them, oblivious to them, teach me something through their words. Some of them even echo my thoughts. It’s interesting, knowing people with similar interests and takes on life, hailing from different places. It is nice, words binding us together. And one important mention is how write-ups from a few blogger friends have pushed me towards worthy realizations. Reading them, my zeal to write elevates a few notches higher. This kind of friendship, I cherish. It often inspires, and leaves behind exemplary impressions. But talking of that, one should know the limits. Dwelling deep too isn’t good. In the swarm of alike company, make sure you don’t go overboard. Because one thing is for sure when one goes virtual, people may not get to know you for real. They know only what you choose to show. And more often than not, we tend to hide our flaws. That’s simple human nature. Get in contact with people, know them, help them or take their help, share happiness, but hold your emotions in place.

Also, let not your virtual life invade your real existence. After all, life can’t merely be lived in pictures and texts. You also need someone beside you when you take those long walks on a silent night. A hand to hold yours and let you know, it’s always there, and those fingers that wipe away your tears along with every despair.

-Srishti