Facebook - Boon or Bane?

FB Usage vis-à-vis addiction – Is it a boon or bane?

Disclaimer:

At the outset, this may well be considered a ‘blog-material’ and in fact it exactly is, however, I thought of sharing this on my wall for the benefit of budding youth over there.  While I realize present day youth do not need a spoon feed on moral policing, I still believe it is appropriate to share for a public ‘review’.

Readers who happen to catch this one at their leisure may well excuse the lingo used here, courtesy (Late) Thespian Major Sundararajan’s way of dialogue delivery (English-Tamil alternation), that is purely for the benefit of Tamil-speaking youth who cannot read Tamil-text-script. Those who know Tamil in-and-out might as well pardon this aspect.

Of course, this may not be an absolute one-on-one (line-by-line) translation per se. certain lingo used in English cannot be expressed in the same tone, vigor and vocabulary in your native language, that’s my personal view point. Hence I took the privilege of going with the flow in that language with the comfort of my own vocabulary!!   RSVP and E&OE!!!

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முகப்புத்தகம் அல்லது முகநூல் பிரயோகிப்பது அல்லது அடிமையாவது ஒரு வரப்பிரசாதமா? வில்லங்கமா?

FB Usage vis-à-vis addiction – Is it a boon or bane?

Facebook has become a medium inevitable for all in the society, regardless any barriers of age or linguistic divisions, and leave alone continental or demographic barriers. Of course, it’s not alone, it has got its own brethren in contemporary mediums like Orkut, Twitter, and many more (that I am unaware of. Excuse my ignorance!!).

இன்றைய யுகத்தில் அல்லது காலக்கட்டத்தில் முக நூல் உபயோகிப்பது என்பது வயது, மொழி மற்றும் கண்டம் கடந்த அல்லது பூகோள ரீதியிலான குறியீடுகளையோ கணக்கீடுகளையோ தாண்டிய பழக்க வழக்கமாகி விட்டது.

முக நூல் என்பது தனியானது அல்ல, இதன் சகோதரத்துவ அல்லது பங்காளித்துவ தகுதிகள் கொண்ட ஆர்குட், ட்விட்டர் இன்ன பிற சாதனங்கள் சந்தையில் உள்ளன (அவற்றின் பெயர்கள் எனக்கு தெரியவில்லை, அல்லது உடனடியாக நினைவிலில்லை, மன்னிக்கவும்).

Be it governments across continents, public or private Enterprises, individuals or group of individuals, you name everyone you find them using Facebook and Twitter these days.  I am not going to focus much on Twitter here, as I don’t have much expertise or exposure to that (I have written in the past on that separately). What I convey here about FB equally would apply to other social mediums by and large.

தனிப்பட்ட நபர்கள் மட்டுமன்றி, கண்டங்கள் கடந்து தேசங்களின் அரசுகள், பொது மற்றும் தனியார் துறை நிறுவனங்கள், பற்பல தனி நபர்கள் ஒருங்கிணைந்த குழுமங்கள் மற்றும் பலர் முக நூல், ட்விட்டர் மாதிரியான சாதனங்களை உபயோகிக்கிறார்கள்.

ட்விட்டர் பற்றிய எனது சந்தேகங்கள் அல்லது குழப்பங்களை நான் எனது பிறிதொரு பதிவில் முன்னர் பதிவிட்டிருந்தேன். எனக்கு அதைப்பற்றிய தெளிவில்லாத சூழலில் இங்கே நான் குறிப்பிடும் கருத்துக்கள் பெருவாரியாக இதுபோன்ற அனைத்து சமூக  ஊடகங்களுக்குமே பொருந்தும்.

By and large what I think on FB and its extremity what it offers or holds to the benefit to the user community, the more the benefit the more equivalent you can talk about its limitations.

முக நூல் வழங்கும் சாதனங்கள், உள்ளீடுகள் அதன் மூலம் நாம் பெறும் அல்லது நமக்கு கிடைக்கக் கூடிய பலன்களை கணக்கிட்டால் நல்ல விதமான பலன்கள் எவ்வளவு உண்டோ அவ்வளவுக்கு தீய பலன்களும் சார்ந்தே உள்ளன.

FB has taken the place of what Email did couple of decades ago (precisely late 1990s or thereafter). We cannot differentiate or enumerate the impact FB has made on to the society at large, to individuals, societies or group of people or an Enterprise.

1990களுக்குப் பிந்தைய காலக்கட்டத்தில் 'ஈ‍மெயில்' என்கிற ஊடகம் ஏற்படுத்திய தாக்கம் முக நூலினாலும் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இதில் தனிப்பட்ட, குழும அல்லது நிறுவன ரீதியிலான பாகுபாடு நாம் காணமுடியாது.

Those who were born before 1970s would agree with this factor that FB has taken the place or can be considered the equivalent of our conventional THINNAI PECHU or MUTTU CHANDU discussions or conversations we used to have in our times in our small towns and villages. 

I have no clue if such habits would still be prevalent with the advent of Television, Print and Electronic media’s evolution; more particularly in towns or agraharams, Thinnai culture as an infrastructure has almost gone, bearing a few places in remote towns. Most Thinnai infrastructure have now been replaced by ‘closed-door’ modifications or alternations where traditional Thinnai now is by itself a ‘living room’ or rented accommodation for many households.

1970க்கு முன்னர் பிறந்தவர்களுக்குப் புரியும் அல்லது தெரியும். முந்தைய நமது இளமைப்பருவத்தில் நாம் கண்டு அனுபவித்த 'திண்ணைப்பேச்சு' 'திண்ணைக் கச்சேரி' கலாசாரத்தின் இடத்தை முக நூல் என்கிற ஊடகம் முழுவதுமாக விழுங்கி விட்டது எனலாம்.

தொலைக்காட்சி மற்றும் பத்திரிகைகளின் ஆதிக்கம் வந்தபிறகு, பெருவாரியான சிற்றூர் அல்லது சிறு நகரங்களில் திண்ணை என்பதே இப்போது காண்பதற்கு அரிதாகிவிட்டது. திண்ணைகள் தற்போது பெரும்பாலும் மரச் சட்டங்களாலோ சுவர்களாலோ மூடப்பட்டு வாடகைதாரர்களின் வசிப்பிடமாகவோ 'ட்ராயிங் ரூம்'(லிவிங் ரூம்)என்று ஆங்கிலத்தில் அழைக்கப்படும் வாழுமிடமாகவோ மாறி பலகாலம் ஆகிவிட்டது.

In conventional Thinnai Pechu, people in a locality who have no other work to do productively used to assemble together in a common place whereby like-minded friends would gather in the process they develop some topic to discuss and debate (it may be a talk of the town or that day’s news headline or whatever happened in the near vicinity). Those who had spare time used to join in this conversation and at times, such debates or discussions go into deep slumber where, at times, it develops or extends into a heat argument and slowly it can lead to physical violence as to trespassing into each other.

Some of the Thinnai Kacheri used to be in the form of playing Solitaire (Seetu Kattu Kacheri as was known in local lingo!!) many a times, this used to be on monetary betting terms. There was no age limit who participate in such Solitaire, where it was no secret that many learned and well-to-do people (financially sound people) used to play and lose lot of money in the process.  Those who are not blessed financially used to borrow and play, hoping to gain something out of the game thus they plan to repay those debts. There were many landlords who lost their property and wealth by way of their contribution and indulging in such Solitaire games.

Compare this with FB style of converging into electronic media. Initially FB appeared to be a tool or platform to exchange casual pleasantries and sharing of ideas and opinions; few used to share pictures and platforms; Over 10 years of evolution, FB has found an unimpeachable reputation that people find it unavoidable and inevitable and it has turned into a form of addiction per se that people tend to forsake their other day-to-day activities in the form of their profession, job or whatever they do to make their livelihood.

For few, it is a sheer tool to passing time doing nothing else; for few, it is an extra-curricular activity whereby they exchange views and thoughts on any topic under the sun; For few, posting a status purely with a view to see how many likes, how many comments they get and how many share; people tend to look for comments after comments thus their friends of friends of friends invariably participate in a conversation; it does not matter one person does not know another who have pasted a status; as long as one status meets the eyes of one person, this guy starts posting his comments which evokes another comment from the originator or any other person who happens to be another follower, it goes like this.

Many a times the person who originally started and initiated a dialogue by simply posting a status on his wall ends up interacting with totally strange people, that way FB has served its purpose of ‘wide reach’ to gain market visibility as it is originally intended for.

However, there is a negative impact here. There are few (rather many) who have fake identities (who have created such FB account, just for fun and not to disclose their original identity); few men fake as women; few women fake as men thus FB inadvertently provides an avenue for people to play around in a third party’s life unscrupulously.  If someone is getting trapped into false gimmicks by such fake identity-holders, there comes a social stigma which FB owners in fact would not have opted or thought over.

Not to leave aside the side effects of erroneous usage of FB by unscrupulous social elements who are by virtue anti-social elements and are determined to take advantage of this medium.

By continued usage of FB, many a times, people tend to be addicted to this medium and find it inconvenient at some point of time, but do not know how to come out of this vicious activity which they have inculcated by sheer show of common curiosity.

It’s not uncommon to start something as a habit and find it later to stop that habit; it all needs a sheer self-control and exercising restraint where one ought to stop such addicted nature.

FB can be effectively used positively in any environment (be it at a personal level or at a business or corporate communication medium).  It involves pure discipline following professional ethics and standards of communication respecting human values and morality.  

(Rest of Tamil translation to be continued)