In the realm where virtual meetings, screens and digital interactions reside. The idea of Social Networking for the youth today looms like mirage.
Though, the trend is quite unique in its own way but has given way to a number of issues with varying degree of severity, be it issues with children having difficulty in expressing their emotions and sometimes even telling about there basic needs. Or on the other hand, the mental health of the future of the country, from the past few years it is observed that there has been an increase in mental health problems among the youth.
A number of psychologists/philosophers consider humans as social beings and can be best understood only in relation with the environment. Additionally, having intimate interaction with people around is a value in the Indian culture which is given high priority during the formative years of a child. But as we know the major advances which have taken place in the field of science and technology have eroded this cultural practices due to which the youth today prefers more of digital interactions instead of face to face one.
Studies reveal that it’s important to interact with people in our daily life and be part of groups as it has a number of positive influences in our lives, for instance, groups and engaging into face to face interactions provide us a sense of security, status, supplement information and also play a major role in development of positive social identity & positive self-esteem. But today in the face of the advanced technology meeting people face to face looks like a distant dream.
The offline social networking gives us a numerous chances to develop our personality and to enrich our life with a number of experiences. it helps us cultivate a sought of trust, expanding viewpoints, sharing experiences and last but not the least braodens one’s social network and at times, some interaction becomes our perceived support alongside providing us a way to look at things from different perspectives.
Furthermore, by fostering social networking among students and encouraging them to value human connections instead of digital interactions to make them realise that the real wealth of life doesn’t exist in materialistic things but in the human connections that one makes throughout his/her life. The benefits of offline social networking among students are not only limited to this instead it has been observed that the experiences cultivated by these face to face interactions have positive influences on their social and psychological well-being.
But lastly, the question arises of how we and others around again engage in face-to-face interactions in such a technologically advanced world. And the only solution through which we can work towards it is once adopting our ancient cultural practices and therefore, getting bonded by each other once again in a way that ease outs our life without any harmful effect.
About the Author
