Daily Times

Sir: There was a time when families and friends used to have real gatherings or at least more practical interactions. People used to enjoy reading books and studying newspaper articles and had healthy discussions. But now, every aspect of our life is erroneously affected by new technology devices and the Internet.

The very first thing we do when we wake up is to check our smart phones for updates, instead of wishing a good morning to our parents. Also, workaholics are extremely busy with their handheld devices. They are always seen either doing their job assignments or just engrossed with worldly affairs. Most of the people remain busy surfing Facebook, Instagram or other similar websites that have ‘more entertainment’ but ‘less meaning’.
In a study, some British folks, particularly teens, confessed that their online friendships are exclusively based on attractive looks instead of like minded thinking. Every day Facebook users spend a total of 10.5 billion minutes on the website (excluding mobile users), i.e. 19,963 years precisely. Another survey discovered that 24 percent Americans and 28 percent British have admitted that they exaggerate and lie about their profiles on social media websites. Imagine the percentage of Pakistanis. A Hong Kong study found that in contrast to virtual buddies, real life friendships involve more interdependence, understanding, commitment, etc.
I am not against social media but we should limit ourselves in social networking and focus on real life relationships and living moments, lest the coming generations read about our true fashion, culture and values as stories on some websites.
AFIA AHMED
Karachi