Facebook or Facelessbook?

I am not a big fan of social networking. It is something like empty calories except these are empty likes and friends. Empty calories give us a head rush and hence we feel good for a short time but because it is empty it does not really nourish us physically and hence we crave for more. Similarly empty likes and friends on facebook, twitter etc give us a rush of being liked and important for a short while but because it is virtual inside a computer screen, there is really no bond or connection with the person.

It is simply another form of consumerism where we advertise our self (self-image) in the best possible manner and hope to impress others. We are consuming our own flaring ego. The bottom line is social media cannot satisfy us as it is impersonal and artificial.

Real likes and friends have to be made in the real world with real people as there will be no rehearsals in what you will say, no photoshopping of the self, no grammar corrections, and editing…it will be with the real me with all my bells and whistles. When we bond with an individual in this real manner, we will feel satisfied. I guess I am old fashioned! Real friendship is with real people not virtual avatars!

I consider Krishna as my best friend! Krishna in chapter five of Bhagavad Gita says that among the friends we have in a real way (not virtual) Krishna says I am the best of all friends. The common adage “friend in need is a friend in deed” is so true to Krishna. We may have our best friend, wife or companion. But these relationships are unreliable in the sense they cannot always be with you at the time of need. But Krishna who is seated within our heart says “I am always with you and you just have to turn your face towards me and call out my name in time of need. I will be the swift deliverer from all your problems”. Who can be a better friend than that?

The video although does not talk about Krishna does describe how the social aspects of human beings have evolved and transformed, showing how we have regressed from a social standpoint and how the more we “connect” online, the less actual human interactions we have, making us actually fairly unsocial, In other words, impersonal and artificial!

Hare Krishna