Skip to main content

Taming the Wild


The internet is the most wide reaching and all-pervading of man's inventions. 

Interconnecting computers worldwide, the internet has the ability to reach each and every home and touch each and every life. It is used by almost everyone, irrespective of their age, sex or nationality. 

Needless to say, the internet has opened up a lot of avenues for communication, expression, networking and much more. This blessing to mankind has made us more open, more visible...and generally more, "out there." It helps us share our thoughts and feelings. It helps us stay connected, stay updated. But this invention also comes with its own pros and cons. 

 The internet is the easiest and the cheapest mode of communication in today's world, no doubt; but it is also something that puts us a lot in "the public eye." So while it is true that this is the preferred mode of expression for a lot of people today, there are a few things that need to be kept in mind when using the internet.  

Online personality

In today's day and age, we all have an extension of our personality on the internet - a parallel, online personality. We have all heard and read a lot about how one has to be careful as to what they put on the internet, and what and who they are associated with on the internet. It is also a known fact that prospective employers or prospective brides or grooms or even business acquaintances or colleagues at work find each other mostly via the internet. So then, it is all the more important therefore, to ensure that one has on the internet, the same image one prefers to have in real life.

Being personal on the social media

Although it is true that certain social networking sites like Facebook are meant for people to have their own personal page, how 'personal' one should get is an individual choice. It is important not to forget that any content posted on the internet once is there to stay forever. Even if you delete certain posts or pictures, there are always ways of retrieving them at any given point of time, however distant in the future it may be. It is only prudent then, that a lot of thought be put into what goes up on the internet about us. 

Better safe than sorry...

When we put up pictures of our children and our family on the internet, we cannot forget the fact that these pictures are easily visible and accessible to all. It is also possible for absolutely anyone to save these pictures to their phones with just one click! Our children, our achievements, our happy moments - are not just being viewed by family and friends who will be happy for us, but also possibly, by strangers.Posting children's pictures on the internet, especially time stamped ones, can be a serious mistake and invitation to trouble! It is also important to check before posting pictures that one is not being insensitive to others. 

Children on the internet

Mobile phones, computers, tablets, ipads - nothing is off limits to children anymore. Most children start using the internet and especially social media as early as they enter their teens these days. The parents therefore, need to be all the more alert and ensure, that they are aware what children are indulging into. It is better to make set a rule that parents should know the password for their children's social media and other accounts. Children need to be explained that this is not for the parents to pry, but parents need to keep an eye on what they are up to, for safety reasons to say the least. It can also help the children immensely if parents help them in using the internet to their advantage and to project their best side on the world wide web.    

Tame the wild...

Can we use the internet to our advantage in addition to using it for social interaction? Won't it be best to put up content that we want to highlight about our self. We can take lessons from celebrities and otherwise famous people in this regard. They have learnt the art of letting the internet work for them such that it operates as an extension of their personal goals - be it promoting their latest movies or their new shows or even taking a stand for or against something. If one is smart enough, this wild beast which is the internet, can surely be tamed by using it for one's advantage and personal advancement!

We take a lot of care to groom our personality; and our conduct in public, is always impeccable. So why not pay equal attention to our online personality as well?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Break In The Pattern

The train stops. She looks around. It is a big station, large and open, nothing like the big city railway stations that she has seen. This station is surrounded by lush greenery as far as the eye can see. There is a chill in the air. And a sense of belonging. She breathes it in, deeply.  She walks towards the end of the platform to the foot-overbridge that will take her out of the station. A few taxis and auto rickshaws are lined up near the exit, and she hires one at random. The driver helps her stow her one bag near her feet, while she sits to one side of the wide seat, as if she is sharing space with someone. Because she is used to taking up only so much space – always in a corner, trying not to make her presence felt. Now as she thinks this, she moves a little towards the centre of the seat, as if to affirm to herself that she is now travelling all by herself, for the first time in her life. You wouldn’t really know it now, to look at her, but she is scared out of h...
33 comments
Read more

The Dream

“Hello,” said the voice on the phone. “My name is Roald Dahl. I know you never expected a call from me, as famous as I am, but I’ve been given your name as someone who can help me with my next book…” That was how it all started. With that one dream. Of course, I knew it even before I had opened my eyes, that it was a dream. I mean, who in their right mind would say I know you never expected a call from me, as famous as I am… ?! Not to mention the fact that Dahl has been dead for the past twenty-eight years. But that didn’t matter. Not at that time. Because that dream gave me clarity. That dream propelled me into action after ages of inactivity. Well, I say ages, but it was merely months, really. Months spent going in and out of courtrooms. Months spent climbing up and down that horrid staircase of the family court building. Horrible, awful months. Excruciating months, when I preferred oblivion, and possibly even contemplated death. Months when I didn’t want to exis...
37 comments
Read more

Of life lessons and listening to one’s heart - Mrs. B speaks

Small pleasures matter in life. Really small, everyday pleasures. Like, being able to smell the garden in full bloom on a hot summer day, or being able to have a hot water bath in cold weather. Or even being able to drink a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Or, for that matter, being able to eat junk food to one’s heart’s content! Ah, bliss! Oh, I almost forgot, for those of you who haven’t met me before , myself, Mrs. Bhagirathi. The kids in my building call me Mrs. B. I am a housewife. Or better still – a homemaker. I work from home and generally spend time reading and surfing the internet when the kids and my husband are away for the day. I also cook and clean, and wash and iron clothes – but I guess all that is included in the title of “homemaker.” So no special mention needed. So, like I was saying, life is a sum total of small pleasures. And what I said about junk food, is absolutely true. Especially when you think of the cheeseburger. Or the veggie bur...
31 comments
Read more