Digitisation of Socialisation

Two essential words:
Communication and Interaction.
What do they signify?

— Pranjal Poudel

Perahaps it would be wiser to rewind the historical clock. To, well, the past. During all of time, the aforementioned two words have been the cornerstone of societies. Yes, there are other physical factors as well, but take a moment to sit back and think about it. Where would we be without either communication or interaction? Look at all the people around you, people you know. Then think about something else: words. We think in words, we talk in words, we express ourselves in words. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that without words, we are next to helpless. Without words, without any universal means of communication and interaction, what we call a society wouldn’t exist. Of course, it’s all hypothetical, but that does not mean it cannot be true. Imagine a world without words. The thought that we can’t communicate with others. Or share our thoughts. At this point, you should really be thinking. Making use of that thing called imagination. Thinking in images. In words. Creating a virtual scenario within the confines of the brain.

Needless to say, communication and interaction have been continually evolving. A chronological listing seems appropriate. From the use of inanimate objects and gestures, we moved on to simple sounds and symbols. Although the order may vary, the meanings surely are the same. Onto more complex sounds and symbols. It was probably at this point that the alphabet came into being. The problem of communication seemed to be solved.

However, with expanding civilizations came the need for communication over longer distances. Along came the letter. Delivered by hand or pigeon and extremely slow. This went on for quite some time. Then came cable’¦

Time to cut out the foreplay. Enter the world of social networking. Gone are the days of the telegraph and email (partially, at least). This is the time of Facebook, Twitter, and more recently, Google Plus. And let’s not forget the et cetera at the end. No example is complete without an ‘et cetera’.  Based on guesswork, the primary role of social networking is communication over long distances. In this increasingly digitized world, we have witnessed the digitisation of words, images and sounds which, in turn, has been succeeded by the digitisation of complex combinations of the same things. Our world is shifting more and more from the physical realm to the digital realm.

This shift has brought about a lot of changes. Not least in communication and interaction. Since the initial purpose of social networking was communication, it comes as no surprise that usage is very high.  In Nepal it seems that Facebook is the most commonly used social networking site. Of course, this only applies to those who have internet access, which is roughly 2 percent of the population. Nevertheless, when you meet somebody new, and want to keep in touch, rather than phone numbers or email addresses being exchanged, it’s adding each other as ‘friends’ on Facebook. Something I have noticed, and I’m sure most of you have as well, is that interactions these days are mostly online. Ask somebody if he/she knows a certain person, the reply you get will be along these lines: I haven’t met him/her in person, but we are friends on Facebook. The whole concept of friendship has been distorted by social networking. Of course, it could be just as likely that notions of friendship have simply been redefined. Your call. Anyway, you can add almost any person as a friend, regardless of whether you know them or not. There are no boundaries, no limitations.

Ease of use is probably another reason why online interactions are so prevalent these days. You can talk to people from the comfort of your home, or any other desired place. Simultaneous interactions are another advantage. You can sound however you would like to sound. If you want to use some big words, you just have to open another tab on your browser and use a thesaurus. If you want to keep it simple, you have your brain.

That aside, I shall proceed to mention an interesting thing. On one hand, you have who you are. On the other, you have your virtual identity. What social networking has done is that it has created a new, digital world. Where you have a digital identity. There are no pressures of face-to-face interactions. It’s the world of chat, hellos and his, lols and hahas, brb and gtg. You can interact with anybody you like. And you can be whatever, whoever you want to be. The possibilities are endless. For example, my real name is Pranjal Poudel, and I live in Kathmandu. Nothing is stopping me from being, let’s say, Randall Martin from Johannesburg. I can project myself to be whoever I want.

For most people, social networking seems to be about the popularity thing, vying for likes or comments. Or for that matter, a larger amount of friends. Behind the safety of your screen and with innumerous resources at your disposal, there is almost no barrier. Another trend I’ve noticed is that many people are so different when you interact with them online, and when you actually meet them in real life, they are not what you expected. The extent to which interactions are based online would be well illustrated by the fact that we make friends online, and even start relationships online. And what’s even more fun is that you don’t even know who that person is. You can talk all you want, and if you don’t like that person, you can simple remove him/her. This rarely happens in real life. It seems that one of the reasons behind people resorting to online interactions is the sense of power it gives. You can choose who to talk to, who not to talk to. You can say whatever you want and not have to be answerable to anybody. And as mentioned before, you can be whoever, whatever you like. Not that everybody does it, but the option remains open.

And think again. Without words, where would we be?