“Nice meeting you. Are you on Facebook?”
“Let's take photos and I'll upload them on MySpace.”
“I met my boyfriend on Orkut randomly. We're thinking of getting married.”
“Yes, I got your wedding invitation on Facebook, I already RSVPed on your event page.”
“I left you so many wall messages, why didn't you respond? Have you been ignoring me?”

Do any of these conversations sound familiar? Well, all of us, at some point or the other, have heard people use these sentences. This is the lingo of social networking websites. Their advent and exponential growth in the last six to seven odd years has revolutionalised the way people (with computers) communicate. Largely a by-product of globalisation, these websites have literally shrunk the world to a size where anyone, even in the remotest corner of the world, is merely an internet connection away.

Virtually everyone we know is connected to us through one or more of these websites. And why not? Isn't most social communication between (young) people these days being done through them? Consider this; it's become such an essential part of every day communication that even our parents are flocking to sign-up! After all, when was the last time they found anything we were doing worthwhile?

Social networking websites have become the rage and for good reason. Growing from a simple communication tool, they now offer services and entertainment that can keep you occupied for hours, even days together. From playing scrabble with random people around the world to sending bumper stickers to your friends, these websites allow people's imaginations to be stretched and skewed, at the same time providing a world of possibilities. Their popularity can be judged from the fact that companies, including Pakistani ones, are vying to advertise on them, because the target audience is just so huge and growing every day.

The merits of social networking websites as communication tools are universally appreciated, so much so that they are not lost even on their diehard opponents (mostly parents of teenagers). But there is a cathartic aspect of these websites that has people majorly addicted to their usage. According to psychologists, these websites allow both youngsters and adults to discover, uncover and express their sense of identity and their sense of self. They provide a platform which, while being intimate, has a sense of anonymity and freedom, allowing for rather explicit expressions of wide-ranging emotions. As a result, people sense of personal space and privacy has universally changed. Sharing photos of all sorts of occasions, your personal information, your 'status', your 'notes', likes, dislikes, friends and what have you with not only people you are connected with, but also people your connections are connected with, means that you allow them peaks into your lives in a way like never before.

Youngsters are seen taking photos in cafes, parks, schools, etc., just so they can upload them on Facebook or MySpace. Then there are some people vying to 'add' more and more 'friends', even if they are total strangers. There are various groups people join in order to interact with kindred spirits because it can oftentimes be hard to physically come across people like that.

So there is an entire world out there, waiting to be explored. How many individuals do we all know who have beaten some form of loneliness or the other through these websites? And how many other individuals do we know who we would have long forgotten had it not been for these websites? How many long lost friends and acquaintances have we discovered who we thought we may never meet again?

For a large number of users, the social and psychological dependence of social networking websites is quite extreme. And now with the availability of logging on to them through mobile phones means you are forever connected.

“The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is log on to Facebook. It's almost always on even on my work computer and I sneak a moment here or a moment there throughout office hours to keep track of my friends,” confesses Kashif, a 32-year-old accountant. Many work places have had to block access to these websites due to declining productivity. According to the estimate of a certain bank, which prefers to remain anonymous, about 60 per cent of its employees were found using one or more of these websites, resulting in lower productivity, before they were barred.

Tehmina, a graduate student, is a self-professed addict. “I know I am addicted to MySpace. My physical interaction with my friends has drastically reduced because I spend a lot of my free time browsing my friends' online profile. I feel a bit ashamed saying this but the curious side of me enjoys looking at random people's profiles too,” she confides.

“I am a very lonely person, and I have a very little self-confidence. I've made a few friends on Orkut who I love 'hanging out' with,” declares Ayad, a young school teacher. “They're all automobile fanatics like me. With them I can be myself. Since I started using this website, my life really has changed for the better.” 

A teenage boy was recently heard saying, “I am spending my TV time using MySpace and Twitter. What's the difference?” Fast becoming a mode of entertainment, social networking websites have become a justifiable addiction that is hard to argue against. On the one hand, where computers and televisions were taking people away from playgrounds and turning them into hermits of sorts, on the other, these websites are connecting people with more and more friends and family members, resulting in much greater human interaction. So what if society is progressing and developing in cyber space? Till 10 years, weren't sociologists worrying that modern technology would reduce human dependence? Networking website then, do sound like good news.