Real image and the Virtual Image

Whether we admit or not, these days , our behaviour is very much influenced by the Social media. from ‘chaar log kyaa kahenge’ (what would four people say) to ‘ chaalis log kyaa kahenge’ (what would 40 people say). Coincidentally , across culture , people are always worried about the ‘four people’ who need to approve their behaviour at all times. Why four and why not three or five? I am digressing right at the beginning; need to go on.

At the end of the day, we have spoken , ‘chatted’ or fought, more with our friends, ‘frenemies’  and virtual acquaintances and  of course a great many  total strangers than to real people in our everyday life. We have deliberately projected our virtual image to more people publicly , which may or may not be in line with our real personalities. Americans are cool; they have nicely adapted our word Avatar to indicate one of the many images of a being. My Twitter, FB and Telegram Avatars are so different, some one who has known me only through SM would think they are different people.

It starts with the DP or Profile picture ,that is generally natty or cool as compared to the grumpy you that your spouse sees every day, every moment, even as you are busy posting those ROFL emojis. 

Physical appearance taken care of, the next issue is the projection of the mental ‘you’ ; someone cool, liberal, generous, fun loving, witty etc etc.  

Everyone wants to be projected as witty. Most people forward jokes and funny videos to achieve that. It’s not easy to create contents particularly graphics. Since nobody knows who had made the original content, here it is important to be quick on the trigger. 

A little digression here about humour as such.

To think of it , humour is much more than just reading a joke, even less forwarding one. It is the way one is able to laugh at oneself, see the funny side in ordinary activities in day to day life. I remember reading ‘Uncle Podger hangs a picture ‘ from Three men in a boat. Just an ordinary act of fixing a nail and hanging a picture by a senile old man is narrated so wittily. Whenever , I am on   DIY  mode , the thought of Uncle Podger does bring a smile .

Anything can be laughed at, no sacred cows there. Swami Vivekananda , it seems , used to mimic Ramakrisna Parmahams going into Samadhi , done with such exaggerated comic effect,  sending his guru bhais into peels of laughter. I think in these corona times it would be great to be able to see the funny side of anything.

Coming back to SM, we’ll continue to interact with many avatars of many people including many of total strangers on twitter, FB, Instagram, and what have you. Some people who have been very close to one another have ceased to be on talking terms over some tiff on some virtual platform. Total strangers , who are know to each other only by their DP or avatars have got so close that they eagerly look forward to their ‘likes’ ‘follow’, ‘retweet’ etc. The number of ‘likes’ are also closely watched sending up or down , the Serotonin or Dopamine levels from moment to moment.

I am yet to see a ‘challenge ‘ like ‘nirvana from SM Challenge’ , for obvious reasons that even if you win that challenge where will you announce it and take a bow.

We cannot wish away WhatsApp and Facebook . Why not look at it as one more interesting dimension of real human behavior in a ‘virtual society ‘ ? Why not  choose to be amused  than be annoyed !