(I don't know whether directly mentioning the names,Facebook or YouTube amounts to unethical/illegal advertising or not,neither am I aware of any possible cyber-law which restricts an individual from doing the same.If there is one,I plead,in advance,sheer ignorance added to an unconditional apology to the respective authorities,because I've got no intention of breaking laws while writing this insignificant note).
Study of Kinesics tells us about "cluster gestures",or a group of synchronous body movements that we subconsciously exhibit during a passive moment of Feeling,or an active moment of Expression of feelings-at a certain moment if one frowns due to any cause,there shall occur certain specific movements in other body parts,hands,feet etc.with possible prominent changes in posture or gait,which tend to expose one's mind in any given situation.
Study of Kinesics tells us about "cluster gestures",or a group of synchronous body movements that we subconsciously exhibit during a passive moment of Feeling,or an active moment of Expression of feelings-at a certain moment if one frowns due to any cause,there shall occur certain specific movements in other body parts,hands,feet etc.with possible prominent changes in posture or gait,which tend to expose one's mind in any given situation.
In this present time of social networking via the world-wide web,one can notice a similar phenomenon.People interact with people from from all parts of the virtual world(that tends to make our real-time world in real space,a much smaller entity in virtual time-space with considerably easier and faster access-(social globalisation in this case),which has become an essential need for us to maintain and conduct our social lives,if one must choose to of course,while rushing through the desperately rushing rush-hours of a modern day.
Most interactions change from an initial personal and singular process to group-interactions where multiple people make contact and share.One,more often than not,notices "cluster reactions"(if I may call them so)to a singular action.If one goes into a mode of reminiscence by a publicly shared comment,or a photograph or audio-visual virtual link,the entire group tends to move towards the same mode of reminiscence-something which provides sensory and emotional gratification which we feel and enjoy,and creates a transient "bond" within the group members,that has the elements of trust,re-affirmation & confirmation of moral concepts,artistic tastes,philosophical beliefs etc,mutually reciprocative appreciation of thoughts & actions-acts of fraternisation,the essence of which is definitely positive and contributes healthily to our real space-time society.
A couple of days back,I had posted,in Facebook,the YouTube link to a Hindi movie song which was quite a hit song in 1975.Many friends(in real or virtual)had posted comments below the link.There was something common in all of them-Appreciation in any form,and an underlying tender sentiment that reflects the fact that no matter how fast time has flown by since the 70s with an incredible number of incredibly fast changes in our personal and social lives,mainly due to technological advancements,people still like to go back to the past to revisit the simpler life and relive its moments that were there 40 years back.
While personally I really wandered to the past,to my early school-days when a particular song used to play on our newly bought stereophonic radio inclusive of an integrated cassette player & recorder,on Sunday afternoons,just after the Bournvita Quiz Contest.Those 2 hours of lazy Sunday afternoons belonged to me,and the melodies used to carry me into a magical place,a kingdom of which I was the self-asserted,undisputed king.My childhood heroes,from the sports and the film worlds,lived there too and I used to indulge in regal interactions of grandeur with my heroes,on a sports arena or a rugged terrain of Texas where cowboys and Indians battled frequently.
A couple of days back,I had posted,in Facebook,the YouTube link to a Hindi movie song which was quite a hit song in 1975.Many friends(in real or virtual)had posted comments below the link.There was something common in all of them-Appreciation in any form,and an underlying tender sentiment that reflects the fact that no matter how fast time has flown by since the 70s with an incredible number of incredibly fast changes in our personal and social lives,mainly due to technological advancements,people still like to go back to the past to revisit the simpler life and relive its moments that were there 40 years back.
While personally I really wandered to the past,to my early school-days when a particular song used to play on our newly bought stereophonic radio inclusive of an integrated cassette player & recorder,on Sunday afternoons,just after the Bournvita Quiz Contest.Those 2 hours of lazy Sunday afternoons belonged to me,and the melodies used to carry me into a magical place,a kingdom of which I was the self-asserted,undisputed king.My childhood heroes,from the sports and the film worlds,lived there too and I used to indulge in regal interactions of grandeur with my heroes,on a sports arena or a rugged terrain of Texas where cowboys and Indians battled frequently.
Life was,in a way,simpler and less complicated then particularly inside a two-room flat plainly furnished,with only the radio consciously placed in a position,from where it definitely seemed to add a touch of the glamour(which emanates from a "gadget" representing the latest technological change in the market)to an otherwise assorted inexpensive furniture with cheap upholstery filling up the sitting room.I remember my mother religiously dusting the prized radio to maintain the metallic shine,which perhaps produced in the mind of the lady,an illusion of social upgradation of status that the rented middle-class flat sported otherwise.I found it a bit odd,wondering about the possible necessity,relevance and significance of such an exercise but I remember cautiously guarding my secret thought from undesirable public exposure in an unmindful moment of folly.
I used to love the music that came out of The Radio,and cherish it again & again in my private kingdom.
While I look back at these nostalgic moments frozen in time to eternity,I still find many things on the social front odd enough but now I can analyse the possible causes behind such oddities.And I also find that the music of those days has essentially stuck to my core which makes me marvel rather pompously over the music of the 70s,brilliant in its melody and mood of fearless expression,something which heralded the sweeping sociological change that characterizes the 70th.decade of the previous millenium.
In the virtual society of all of us here take part in such exercises of reminiscence,both individually as well as cluster exercises in groups,depending on what the causative stimulus is,and all of us express and share our experiences while reminiscing moments of a romanticized past.It feels so wonderful to be a part of it,where honesty,lack of inhibition,and frankness in it its most pure form ornament the comments and personal accounts we share,especially taking into account the marked individualisation of social entities and fiercely guided privacies,each to his/her own,which modern times has impressed upon us,almost by force.Even the nearest neighbour happens to be a stranger.
But of course,every generation has,and shall continue to have its own golden decades where everything attains near-perfection,rich in novelties that usher in new socio-cultural changes.Perhaps every past generation would do the same if they had a virtual society during their times.
While I look back at these nostalgic moments frozen in time to eternity,I still find many things on the social front odd enough but now I can analyse the possible causes behind such oddities.And I also find that the music of those days has essentially stuck to my core which makes me marvel rather pompously over the music of the 70s,brilliant in its melody and mood of fearless expression,something which heralded the sweeping sociological change that characterizes the 70th.decade of the previous millenium.
In the virtual society of all of us here take part in such exercises of reminiscence,both individually as well as cluster exercises in groups,depending on what the causative stimulus is,and all of us express and share our experiences while reminiscing moments of a romanticized past.It feels so wonderful to be a part of it,where honesty,lack of inhibition,and frankness in it its most pure form ornament the comments and personal accounts we share,especially taking into account the marked individualisation of social entities and fiercely guided privacies,each to his/her own,which modern times has impressed upon us,almost by force.Even the nearest neighbour happens to be a stranger.
But of course,every generation has,and shall continue to have its own golden decades where everything attains near-perfection,rich in novelties that usher in new socio-cultural changes.Perhaps every past generation would do the same if they had a virtual society during their times.
Most of us here have progressed ahead in life to a superior socio-financial status from what used to be during the decades whose memories we reminisce and cherish.This is a natural social process-any society which progresses to survive the destructive complexities of Time shall definitely flourish,in culture,finance and technology,and perhaps towards an order which offers more freedom and equality in the human pace.A society that survives,tends to take up a mantle of a superior "humane"philosophy.Yet when I look at the reactions posted here in Facebook when we remember old days and share the fond memories,I find the honesty and frankness behind the reactions,truely heart-touching.
Of course that's the way we should be.But sometimes one's honesty and simplicity gets distorted into hypocrisy and conceit under the effect of "filthy lucre"(that is how D.H Lawrence qualifies Money and Wealth in his short story-The Rocking Horse Winner).We have all heard our elders commenting on how 'snob' one has become with prospering wealth,and we,ourselves,have "bitched"(I apologize for writing this word,I am just to be frank myself)about somebody's newly upturned nose,criticising and resenting the audaciously glaring "change" of somebody's behaviour and social exercises.The "upstarts" going ahead to become "snobs" is a social truth too,and constitute the unhealthy parts of our society.
Here the already irritated reader might implode to ask why I keep harping on mushy memories,the simpler quality of the life that was,and my apparent over-fondness for the honesty of interaction and sharing of the 'Facebook generation',which are essentially normal,natural processes.There is a reason.
In social networking sites,conceit and hypocrisy are hard to find while the real-time society in which we live,has taken up such a rapid rate of acceleration that the terms honesty & hypocrisy,frankness & conceit hardly matter,grossly irrelevant as people don't have the time to ponder over such issues with seriousness.
This social behavioural pattern-how we,the Facebook generation,cope up with the increasing stress that comes as a collateral package with the demand of the sheer pace of the real life we live everyday,frantically climbing 'the ladder',and still find each other wishing well,agreeing on the "good" things and express lavishly,our mutual appreciation-has perhaps got very little sociological significance.But it is a happy feeling to ponder over it.
Of course that's the way we should be.But sometimes one's honesty and simplicity gets distorted into hypocrisy and conceit under the effect of "filthy lucre"(that is how D.H Lawrence qualifies Money and Wealth in his short story-The Rocking Horse Winner).We have all heard our elders commenting on how 'snob' one has become with prospering wealth,and we,ourselves,have "bitched"(I apologize for writing this word,I am just to be frank myself)about somebody's newly upturned nose,criticising and resenting the audaciously glaring "change" of somebody's behaviour and social exercises.The "upstarts" going ahead to become "snobs" is a social truth too,and constitute the unhealthy parts of our society.
Here the already irritated reader might implode to ask why I keep harping on mushy memories,the simpler quality of the life that was,and my apparent over-fondness for the honesty of interaction and sharing of the 'Facebook generation',which are essentially normal,natural processes.There is a reason.
In social networking sites,conceit and hypocrisy are hard to find while the real-time society in which we live,has taken up such a rapid rate of acceleration that the terms honesty & hypocrisy,frankness & conceit hardly matter,grossly irrelevant as people don't have the time to ponder over such issues with seriousness.
This social behavioural pattern-how we,the Facebook generation,cope up with the increasing stress that comes as a collateral package with the demand of the sheer pace of the real life we live everyday,frantically climbing 'the ladder',and still find each other wishing well,agreeing on the "good" things and express lavishly,our mutual appreciation-has perhaps got very little sociological significance.But it is a happy feeling to ponder over it.
A very relevant and precious comment that I came across in Facebook,provides the clue.Dr.Indranil Kundu who is a physician settled in the United Kingdom,(whom I know well as he was a year senior to me back in medical college)opined as below(I am directly quoting him):
June 23 at 7:34pm
"It ts our generation who has been through the transition from the 70s to the millenium in super fast pace than any one can see.We tend to admire these changes more, we appreciate what we had and what we have. and this appreciation and expectations keeping in mind what changes we have been through: only our generation can face upto it. "
I couldn't have agreed more with this comment.These 40yrs witnessed the fastest sociological change ever.Middle class access to TVs,telephones,stereophonic record-players &'2-in-1' radio-tape recorder),colour TVs,Video cassettes, Satellite channels,pagers,computers,cellphones-all happened in front of our eyes.This opened up the world to us,opening up our minds too.Acceptance of & Adaptability to Change impressed our young minds the most.We all underwent a marked conscious evolution. Definitely,we,the "Facebook Generation" have witnessed the massive,explosive advancement in the fields of information & technology which is the main reason behind the Globalisation phenomenon,where people interact at the click of a mouse.
I couldn't have agreed more with this comment.These 40yrs witnessed the fastest sociological change ever.Middle class access to TVs,telephones,stereophonic record-players &'2-in-1' radio-tape recorder),colour TVs,Video cassettes, Satellite channels,pagers,computers,cellphones-all happened in front of our eyes.This opened up the world to us,opening up our minds too.Acceptance of & Adaptability to Change impressed our young minds the most.We all underwent a marked conscious evolution. Definitely,we,the "Facebook Generation" have witnessed the massive,explosive advancement in the fields of information & technology which is the main reason behind the Globalisation phenomenon,where people interact at the click of a mouse.
For the middle-class(I keep on commenting upon this middle class because firstly I come from such a socio-economic background,and secondly,I think social changes are best appreciated and qualified from perspective of and the eyes of the middle-class section,urban or rural.)One need not be an expert in History or socio-anthropology to conclude that social and sociological changes,irrespective of time & space,history & geography,are only possible when the middle-class appreciates and approves of the causal factors behind the changes,thus giving them a go-ahead.Politically speaking,dictatorial regimes in post-rennaisscence human history have not witnessed any marked social evolution no matter how authoritative or populist those regimes might have been.In the past one decade,the middle-class have changed in essence because informational & technological advancements have caused a palpable 'urbanization' of the rural population(Perhaps a sociological expert can elucidate this process in a much better way).
We do have a big responsibility and carry it out quite well(it is becoming better by the day via virtual socialization).It is not easy for a community as a whole made up of heterogeneous elements to witness the changes,accept the and finally adapt to them,particularly in such a short span.Yet we have done so,and human interactions in popular,responsible networking sites bear testimony to this fact and that it is becoming better with time.We have seen radical Changes,and we appreciate it better,because we value all that which used to be and all that which are.
I see a bright future in spite of political and ideological differences that become prominent when nations interact on political platforms,claiming to represent respective national identities.I can claim with pride that it is us,the international community globalised through the world wide web,who represent the actual identities,right from individual to national levels.And the cluster reactions which open closed hearts as well as closed borders,show us that we can dare to imagine John Lennon's world and work towards realizing the dream.Best Wishes to everybody.
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