The 'I'dentity Crisis

This post is being written for Blogjunta's THE GREAT DEBATERS-Season-1,Debate-2-Do People Reveal Their True Identity On Social Media? and is 'FOR' the topic;-)

‘Iamthecoolestguyonthisplanetbemyfrand’ spams your inbox with umpteen requests and follows you on all the social networking sites you are in.What do you think of and how much do you feel for this online stalker?Most of us will swing our head sideways,swear a few words and block him[who knows it maybe a ‘her’ too!]If you are an average person like me,eight out of ten times you can identify these kinds,can’t you?Unless you want to have some fun too;-)   

How do we define 'IDENTITY' at the first place before we call it false or true?To me it is a life long process of making our existence matter to the others and there is nothing static about it.There are a million facets to it,some real and some virtual.Our thoughts,feelings and actions make what we are and what we want to be for the world.Fortunately or unfortunately today the world wide web has a very important role to play in this matter.

These days relationships and important milestones of our lives are  handled by a click of the mouse or a type on the keyboard.Birthday wishes,wedding snaps,graduation photographs,reunions,break ups,travelogues,diaries,personal conversations,professional meetings,video chats,favorite songs,sport updates,weather forecast,news and gossip...you name it you have it.Through the internet we end up showing what we try to hide very unknowingly and subconsciously,the vice versa does happen too!In the name of ‘CHANGE’ we have internalized the social media way more than it was any day necessary.The  result is now in front of us,we cannot do without it anymore.Even if some amongst us can,we will be forced to get back into the groove in a span of few days to keep in touch with our people for the least.Gaye sirf roti,kapda or makan ke din…ab ek aur mangta hai-‘INTERNET’!:-)

  

Its all in the mind isn't it?;-)Yes indeed it is!According to Sigmund Freud’s model there are three components in our psyche.The ‘id’ which works like a problem child,the ‘super ego’ which works like a strict parent and the ‘ego’ which balances the two.As long as the ego does this juggling act well our identity can be considered acceptable.I made this picture to portray an example of the social network story of our world.All the give and take occurs within this intricate web or trap,whatever you prefer to make it or call it.

Click on the picture for a enlarged view

Human mind is infinitely complex.What happens inside it is sometimes not known even by the one who owns it.We all have an attention seeking behavior of different magnitudes along with a hundred other basic instincts.And depending on the time,place or person we use it smartly.But on many occasions more than discovering ourselves we are happy in inventing a picture of our life to the world the way it wants it to be.Until we do that nobody is going to inquire about us beyond their limit of interest.And therefore everybody is up to something to be loved and cared by someone continuously.There is nothing much wrong about it for nobody can lead a normal life without a network of family and friends.No man is an island after all,just that one should not lose the ground right under his feet;-)

Self clicked profile pictures,unconventional status updates,'retweetable' tweets,incalculable friends and followers on the list are the in thing of today to garner attention.So how genuine are these people?Maybe they feel they really are popular in some vacuum of their mundane existence.Also there are some disturbed souls who outpour every little problem they face on these sites expecting an ear to hear.A  comment to their update or a reply to their tweet does make them smile.Facebook asks'What's on your mind?' and Twitter asks 'What's happening?',now how many people who meet us everyday in person ask that?No wonder we find the social networks alluring!The strange fact for many of them amongst us is online presence means this and ends there.It satisfies them immensely and it is their true identity according to them.However appealing it is choose not to show any excess interest.Ignore them for it is a cue to what their identities are in reality.They reveal through their veil.You indirectly know what constitutes them.Remember what hits you back if you throw a stone into a clogged drain.You get the same thing when you click an 'ACCEPT' on that friend request.Beware!It doesn't take long to turn into their kind!

Sometimes it does get overboard and evade your personal space.It definitely becomes a matter of concern then.Your right and responsibility is to give them back in the right manner.It is neither easy nor hard to survive using the internet.The ones we meet through it cannot be expected to be true or false.Our reflections are completely relative.It is wrong to be judgmental about people unless they themselves claim that we know them well.Everything has a purpose,but the problem with the internet is it has many!Undeniably there are many good odd sheep who use it for the right reasons and settle for nothing but the evens.They are true in the truest sense making the best of the fictitious but fabulous world.This post of mine is dedicated  to each one of them:-)

"The internet is a reflection of our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see.If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror,we have to fix society"

-Vint Cerf-

On a lighter note see this Peter Steiner's famous cartoon:

PS:A dog is a man's best friend,do you get that?;-)

Have a good Sunday!

-R.