Has the Internet...netted us?

Out of my class today my classmate asks me ..."Why do you blog?". It got me thinking, why i blog or better why people blog, tweet use more of the so called social networking sites? Is is that we are not able to express ourselves well enough in our physical forms by talking to people, by interacting with them ? or is it because we live a dual life were we are what we want to be, in our internet self and are what are expected to be, in flesh and blood?

At the outset of internet, there was a huge rush of people who found it as a wonderful way to express their ideas and let their creative juices flow all over the electronic media. People used it to connect to people who were earlier only available via the telephone. Soon the internet manifested itself into a space where people not just ventured to express their creativity, but also to express their views over topics which otherwise were out of their bounds. It also became a playground for demonstrating ones wit and wisdom. Mud slinging via internet is no more new. Attention grabbing via controversial statements on social networking sites has become a modern day fad. Sashi Tharoor being the baton bearer for the Indian youth by making statements about  "Cattle class" and sorts. 

What was initially designed to just transfer information between a group of computers has gone to become so huge that it has a personality of its own. It is almost like the internet is something that has its own life and we all have made this a part of our life. I for one cannot imagine a life without internet, because for every bit of information that i need, i just google it. This shows how much i am dependent i have grown to this beast. I call it a beast because when it is good it is great and when internet turns bad it can be worse then your darkest nightmares. There have been umpteen number of cases where Internet has played a lifesaver. At the same time with malicious worms, viruses and hackers on the prowl it is almost as scary as a walk in the darkest streets of Pennsylvania in a cold winter night. 

Online gaming, chat sites and public forums give us a new perspective of life. We can be what we want, who we want and do what we like to do . However, we have got so much involved in this that we have started to be more of what we are online and in reality we are trying to lead a life which suits the demands of the polished society that we try to impress all the time. It makes me wonder if there has been more that the necessary amount of intrusion into our lives by the so called " Social Networking". 

Food for thought, ain't it?