Due to the development of communication facilities, the world has turned into a ‘global village’. True globalisation has come about only via information technology. Technology has not only made communication cheaper, but also possible and much quicker 247. The information technology particularly the World Wide Web (www), more commonly known as the internet, is the most important means of linking the world. Without the internet, we could just as well return to the Stone Age.
The “social networking site” is the 21st centurys “virtual community”, a group of people who use the Internet to communicate with each other about anything and everything. One can find dating sites, friendship sites, sites with a business purpose and hybrids that offer a combination of these. Globally, hundreds of millions of people have joined one or more social networking sites.
Among the many benefits this technology offers, socialising is one. Social Networking Sites(SNS) are an evolving phenomenon with a great number of people joining several of its kinds on everyday basis. This is a common practice of people from any part of the world and in Pakistan too the use of these SNS continues to grow by leaps and bounds with new social networks popping up all the time. Facebook has become an indispensible tool of communication and interaction. Using this mode of communication is so deeply inculcated in everyones lives, its almost growing into an addiction.
Particularly, the majority of users in Pakistan include the YOUTH, from different schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutes. They enjoy the continuous flow of opinions, blogs, emails, documents, comments and photos being shared and surprisingly never get tired of this constant communication. It is now used as an avenue to judge how the views of our youth are changing. For instance, the users reaction to the Taseer assassination and the recent World Cup were quite apparent on the social networking site and subject to debate and discussion by all socio-political commentators.
Facebook has somewhat cast a spell on youth who can not elude the charisma and attraction of this social interaction tool. Because of large number of youngsters using it and more users joining it every day it is becoming the new communication forum for the youth. Youngsters like to be on Facebook rather than in text books.
KOMAL ATA
Lahore