Just a "click" away

Laitonjam Valentina *

I can hardly remember the last time I held a letter in my hands.

Oh! that feeling when you see the postman with a bag full of letters and you look at him with anticipation, hoping that he'll have a letter addressed to you.

The pleasure and the sparkle in your eyes as you hastily open the coveted letter and absorb each word fumbling here and there, figuring out the handwriting. Ironically, I can't remember the last time I sat down to write a letter, forget about posting one.

Of course, what is the need when you can text your friend, when you can call your parents anyway, when all you need to do is send an e-mail and it is just a click away? Who has the time to write and the time to read anyway?

So much has been talked about the technological revolution with social networking sites booming all over. With the ever increasing rise of social networking sites, I also have a tiny space in the web world.

I live in two worlds – the real world and the virtual world.

The real world wherein I try my best to carve a niche for myself, where I try hard to get noticed – where I try hard to fit in.

In my virtual world, I make sure that I look best, there is never a bad hair day and I have the best of everything. When I need attention all I have to do is update something interesting and equally provoking. Unlike my real world, in my virtual world, I am flooded by friendship requests and messages and I love each moment of it.

I also have a set of virtual friends who is ready to "like" "comment" or "tag" any latest updates or who stand by me virtually.

Who knows my soul-mate may be just a click away!! I am fascinated by the exchange of updates and information by my friends.

I met almost all my friends way back from kindergarten to college and we all share a common platform.

There were people whom I'd never talked during my school days…people whom I'd never realise existed and now they become so super-friendly. I get to know if my friends are awake, their break-ups and patch-ups, the latest flings and crushes, how their day went, when they got a new hair-cut and every other insignificant details...so why would anybody loathe this?

Recently I met a friend and with regular chit-chat we started talking about our love-life. We shared and bitched about past boyfriends, the recent passes we got, the cute guy who just winked at us, the current ones and the ones we hoped to marry someday.

Well, it turned out that she is currently dating a guy...I asked the inevitable question- so, how did u guys meet? She said blatantly – ORKUT – of course, how could I have ever missed the power of the virtual world.

It all begins one fine day, serendipitously through a mutual friend, updates from friends or may be it would have been destiny – from a friendship request, scraps, messages, e-mails, exchanging phone numbers, then of course…..the next morning u wake up u realise u're in love – WOW!

My mom freaks out at the whole idea of this. Gone are the days when you need to know a person before you actually fall in love.

These technologies are making the world so small. Life has become so easy yet so complicated. Laptops, mobiles, I-pads becoming a way of life - good or bad, boon or curse – who can say? Everybody has got a different opinion.

Its just that sometimes in the midst of the virtual fiascos, you suddenly remember a moment in your life when your best friend had the time to make something special, or write a note for you or when you sit down to write and begin the sentence with "Dear Mom and Dad" or is it not worth it coz all said and done, love is just a click away?