Chennai: 

Has the era of social networking sites and WhatsApp robbed Friends­hip Day of the personal element?

While psychologists bel­ieve it has, they also feel the change is inevitable in the world as we know it today.

“Be it teenagers or their parents, everyone has a smart phone now. All they do is text or click on chat to wish their friends. While there’s nothing wrong with that, its not the same as a meeting in person,” they note .

“Kids keep texting on WhatsApp and chatting.  Living with gadgets, children don’t have time to socialize. One-on-communication is definitely better,” says Dr Anjana Thadhani, consultant developmental paediatrician, advising parents to communicate with their children and get them to do more in the real world rather than in the virtual.

But Rajani Nanda­kumar, a psychological counsellor, believes there’s nothing wrong with having a social life in the virtual world.

“Today youngsters are always occupied with work and social networking sites allow them to stay connected with friends. We have to understand this virtual world and the friendships that they nurture,” she suggests, while acknowledging that this does deprive some of the pleasure of actually meeting  friends.

But with popularity being a huge yardstick with most youngsters, the Friendship Day chorus on the Net is unlikely to ease.

“It’s easy to tag all your friends and wish them, instead of meeting each one in person,” reasons Amrita Ranganathan, a college student, echoing the sentiments of many of her generation.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by Uma Kannan, DC / August 04th, 2013