Networking falsehood
by Hrishikesh
In a recent report, Telegraph said that a survey conducted on 2,000 women found that at least one in every four women lied or exaggerated once in a month about themselves, their job or what they were doing at the moment on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. They pretended to be out in the town while in fact they were home alone. They did this because they were worried that their lives might appear 'boring' while they felt jealous at other people's 'exciting' posts. The survey, commissioned by Pencourage, a new social networking website, said at least one in 10 admitted that they lied more than once a week. Almost a quarter overstated their alcohol consumption while one in five was not truthful about holiday activities.
This is an upsetting piece of information and has dangerous implications for its practitioners. 'We pretend to be happy all the time which is exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling,' Dr Michael Sinclair, a leading British consultant psychologist, says.
The urge to share with other people things about ourselves, in whatever mode, is natural for us humans because man is a social animal. However, one who is networking falsehood without guilt is unable to face one's own reality and interact with real people. The faceless world of the internet offers a safe shelter to such a person. All of us may, once in a while, need a receptive, non-judgmental audience to hear our tales of sense of hurt inflicted at the hands of the heartless world. However, deriving a sense of identity and self-importance through a litany of lies told to a captive audience of internet friends who have no means to know the reality about ourselves is a tendency which needs an immediate check for our psychological and emotional wellbeing. Constant lying that we have all the politically correct traits, in fact, prevents us from acquiring any of them. It points to a serious malady, the cultivation of which aggravates the problem.
The habit of posting lies on the net is also connected to the need to stay connected and update one's status constantly. This is 'net addiction' and psychiatrists and researchers opine that it should be treated as a mental disorder. In fact, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is considering including 'internet addiction disorder' as a formal diagnosis in its 2013 edition.
Regarding how optimally to use a social networking site, we would do well to recall the example of Amish Tripathy, the successful Indian author of the recently published Shiva triology. Facing rejection of his novel from about 40 publishers, the IIM graduate posted the first chapter of his book on Facebook! And, lo and behold, there came an avalanche of demand for copies of his book, soon catapulting him to a position of national bestseller! Thus, through Facebook, Amish connected and promoted his epic idea, but not his false self.
News Posted: 24 March, 2013
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