Cyberspace invades

Insecurity breeds in every vein of every youth of Pakistan and cyberspace social networking portals like facebook are a clear manifestation of this. Today we demand constant connection with friends; we demand updates at every breath exhaled; every conversation spoken, unspoken or gone wrong; the curiosity bug has find its way into our soft corner and bit us bad. But what of ‘individuality’ if we make collective decisions even on all things personal. Dreary, indeed, and maybe a little far fetched, but by no means unthinkable.

Telephones are outdated, Cell phones are dead . The latest fad is to communicate through public cyber forums, open and visible to all. Lots of transparency and very little privacy – and a little surprisingly, the clientele will most often include friends from the same city/ region.

So why do people indulge in slower, ineffective and unreliable methods of cyber communication instead of simply using a telephone line? I presume people are scared of feeling or being alone and having an accessible online list of friends rids them of that feeling. Perhaps we should think of it as just another means to seek attention. Yet most people do it because they have nothing better to do. And a handful genuinely wishes to keep touch with friends afar, at distances beyond the convenience of a car drive or a phone call.

Friendship databases seem ideal for the ideal socialite. One would think they’d swarm such programs more so than others. But, to the contrary, it’s the introverts, those who shy away from in-person-interaction, that feel comfortable socializing from behind the computer screen. The seasoned ‘socialite’ knows the ‘greater’ pleasure of real company; therefore, a cyber space gathering will be of very little interest to him/her.

But even the toughest of critics will have to admit that these programs have benefits. One doesn’t have to remember Birthdays – less burden on the neurons already buzzing away inside our puny little skulls. One may initiate a group discussion and maybe even rally support for a public cause. One may find an interesting ‘significant other’ and pursue him/her in all earnestness or not at all - no frills whatsoever. One may even be able to use these programs for the public display of art, in forms of photography, writing, paint, etc. Public forums have their obvious public benefits, no doubt.

So where do we draw the line? What should be the prescribed dosage of indulgence in these programs? Well, I guess, when private becomes public, that’s when the cherry sort of tumbles off the cake; as though you are not owned by yourself, but are in fact a product many other lives around you. Before belonging to someone else, we must first, belong to ourselves, for the dire need of individuality. If not, we will all succumb to the dictates of ‘cyber fascism’.

Too abstract a thought for the average retard? I thought so. Let me elaborate.




My Fellow Retards,

Actors, models, TV stars, all public personalities that transcend Television sets and radio frequencies eventually become people who are able to create their own space in the minds and hearts of masses. Once this happens, they belong to far greater a people as opposed to the time when they were unpopular, since their lives are now followed by more people. Just to drive the point in further, their ‘beloved’ portrait hangs in Ahmed’s bedroom, on Adam’s car bumper, on a pack of cigarettes, under the skin as a tattoo, and even on top of Burki’s commode. Thus the term ‘public property’

I, for one, am not in favor of dividing my already shattered self into finer pieces and distributing them in tiny charitable sweet baskets to strangers I have never known, met, or wish to meet. In short, fame and popularity doesn’t arouse me. This may change one day, since I’m a strong proponent of the idea that change is the one constant in every man’s life.

Core message? You can’t be cynical about cynicism, so don’t even bother…