A case of anti-social networking

Celebs have taken social media networking to a whole new level. They literally serve their most personal and intimate details on a platter. And this creates needless speculation and angst. The most recent example being the spat between the late Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor and Pakistani columnist, Mehr Tarar. Sunanda’s tweets almost mirrored her disturbed state of mind. A few months earlier, Sid Mallya got into a fracas with some followers during IPL, and more recently urged his followers to ask him ‘anything’ they wanted, no matter how scandalous. So how far should celebs go when it comes to candid conversations? We find out.

A little earlier, Ramya and Nidhi Subbaiah got into a row over a local public poll. Nidhi had tweeted “These individual city polls are funny! I believe only in the national poll. God bless small minded people! Tch..” This of course got Ramya to react. Actress Sanjjanaa condemns such spats and says, “Such things are very crass and if one reacts to them, he/she is only stooping as low as the person who passed the comment. If you do not like someone, stay away and maintain your dignity.” According to psychologist, Dr Mallika Rahgavendra, it is a case of ‘tit for tat.’ “Taking to social media has become a fad. Celebs feel that they must deal with the situation on the same platform from where it arose. It is a way to get rid of the blame.  Going on public domain with private matters is like doing your dirty laundry in public,” she explains.  

Former model, Zacharia who usually posts inspiring quotes opines, “Celebs need to realise the influence they have on their followers. They should use this power to spread good values. A sharp tongue will only lead to controversies,” he says.  Sociologist Ganesh Sivaramakrishnan attributes the change to lack of time. “People today live in a virtual world and don’t have the time for personal interactions. Adding to that, social media has given immense amount of freedom to individuals and has also become a channel to vent,” he says.

In this era of social networking, everyone is a paparazzi and everyone is a celebrity. Psychiatrist Dr Shyam Bhat, feels, “In the near future, there will be no such thing as privacy. And as the Tharoor issue reveals, even within couples, privacy can be breached using social networking.  Of course, when celebrities and public personalities post on Twitter or Facebook, their words travel even further. People should remember that unlike other conversations, these words and opinions on the Internet are recorded for posterity.”