There was a time when Friendship Day meant hanging out with buddies
and wearing colourful friendship bands. But now, connect virtually
through forwarded messages, mobile app stickers or a simple post on a
friend's social networking wall overshadows the personal touch and
people's socialising skills.
Easy-to-access, affordable Internet
and plethora of mobile apps with fun stickers expressing emotions have
made many people connect with one another, but mostly on a superficial
level, say experts.
"Friendship bands have become old fashioned.
Now, there is
WhatsApp,
Instagram where you can post your photos with
your friends. Virtual friends are more now," Nidhi Sharma, a stylist,
told IANS.
While there was paucity of time earlier as well,
technology is thought to have made people lazier and as a result,
personal meetings have reduced - thus affecting the quality of
friendship.
The dilemma is that people feel closer by connecting through apps, but they are actually drifting away.
"You
have Internet on phone, work space and don't have to take out extra
time to stay in touch with people. Now, people would rather use WhatsApp
or do video chat or send pictures. You are becoming closer because of
technology, but it has become more superficial," Harsheen K. Arora, a
psychologist, told IANS.
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Also See: Selfies and Social Media Fail to Garner Young EU Votes: Survey)
Davistine Liddle, a 30-year-old online
marketing professional, agrees that a busy schedule keeps him away from
meeting his friends regularly and that technology helps to stay
connected. But, yes, he misses that personal touch.
"I stopped
buying gifts for friends after I finished school. Now, it's more about
WhatsApp, Facebook and Hike messenger. The stickers are pretty
interesting. People have become busy and all these sites and apps help
to remember their birthdays or know what's happening in their lives.
"Personal
meetings have reduced and I miss that, but most friends are working in
different locations, so that gets tough," he said.
Consultant psychiatrist Rajiv Mehta describes the new friendship trend as "shallow".
"There
are some who are active on social networking sites or mobile apps as
they are following others blindly. They feel that everybody is doing so
and should follow them. Lack of time and effort have also made people
turn to virtual friends.
"So, close friendships are not there.
Earlier friendship used to mean a lot. People used to take a decision on
the basis of friendship. Now, it's becoming shallow," said Mehta.
Raman
Suri, a life strategist and success coach, says people are now living
in a "fancy land" and the fascination for social networking sites and
apps is nothing more than an addiction.
"All these sites are
designed in a way that people get addicted to them and they are living
in a fancy land where they feel that if they send a friend request to a
stranger and that stranger accepts, they become friends in reality. That
doesn't happen," said Suri.
Suri says it's time for a reality
check. "There are friends on social networking sites, but when you meet
them in person you get different energy...We are living our life on
autopilot mode. It is easier for robots to lead a virtual life rather
than a realistic one," he added.
The virtual medium has affected
people's confidence to socialise in the real world, Suri elaborates,
saying, "People want to save time but the more time they spend on sites
and apps the more they lose confidence of meeting people. It has now
become a choice not to meet and rather send a message. It's all about
living in the virtual world."
"For people who have a fear of
public speaking, emotions help because you can express yourself by
exchanging smileys but in person it gets difficult," Suri added.
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The
consequences are worse for the younger generation as for them
expression of emotions and articulation of thoughts become tough, says
Mehta.
"Children as young as 10 start using such sites and apps.
They won't know how to communicate face-to-face. The older age group
(above 25) has passed all that; so there's not much to worry," said
Mehta.
Arora also warns children, especially teenagers, against
over-indulgence in virtual friendship. "They don't have a sense of
responsibility at that age. They may not understand or develop a trait
of making real friends or having an emotional connect with someone," she
said.
So, while technology does certainly help to bridge the gap,
readers should try and maintain a balance and make sure to grab a cup
of coffee with friends whenever there is time.
Connectivity options on the Redmi Note 4G include
China-specific TDD-LTE support (1900/ 2300 / 2600MHz) along with GPRS/
EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB with OTG, and GPS/ A-GPS.
Notably, the LTE-bands mentioned are not supported in all countries. The
Redmi Note 4G features a 3100mAh battery.
