Friday, July 15, 2011

My thoughts...: 'Likes' to '+1s'

My thoughts...: 'Likes' to '+1s': "Very soon, we may be saying 'Dear... I +1 you', and I bet no one will be surprised or even raise an eye brow as it will be so much common pl..."

'Likes' to '+1s'

Very soon, we may be saying "Dear... I +1 you", and I bet no one will be surprised or even raise an eye brow as it will be so much common place.
To think of it, happenings in the media have always had their effects on our lingo, our psyche, our thought process, our dress sense, our day to day dealings.
If you take the movies - Swirl of hair on yesteryear's leading lady Sadhana, Guru shirts donned by Dev Anand, almost everything done by the Big B, histrionics of Shah Rukh, Size 0 of Kareena.. If we go across the hemisphere, we have the style of Sean Connery, Gregory Peck; the grace of Audrey Hepburn, the style of divas like Julia Roberts, Angelina.... the list is endless. All these have had it's effects on what we wear, how we look.... may not be in direct obvious sense, but the effects are there by and large.
If you take literature - whether it's the golden classics era (all languages... native and foreign), the more recent pulp fiction, the more intellectual literature.... all have had their effects on the way we think.
Off-late, or maybe for quite a bit of time now, it's technology that is shaping the way we think, the way we speak, the way we relate, the way we communicate..... almost everything!
The difference is this is a framework put in by humans, fed into systems which run on 0s and 1s to present a platform to us... and we being the advanced race that we are, use our intellect to use it in a multitude of ways.... so extensively that these forms of technology are almost becoming all consuming and all pervasive.
We almost live, breathe through social networking. It's all over and all around us. For people still keeping away from this, it's probably not that much of an impact. But, for the rest like us, we are there right on the grid..... we have a co-ordinate and can be reached and are a part of the design.
And then, we as people, the way we think, the way we emote, the way we want to exhibit.... all seems driven by this phenomena.
Social Networking sites touch that inner cord most of us have, to relate, to brag, to boast, to moan, to crib... This is not new..... the feeling was always there.. did'nt we get on chai sessions, lady's group sessions, guys time outs, family get-togethers, college hang outs....? Now, we have a technology provided platform to do it!
It's addictive... and seriously needs an effort to switch off. It's required at times...
For now, I am tiding through a new medium and getting myself to "+1" it !!