In the days of the present , WhatsApp, Skype , Facebook,
Instagram are central to the lives of most of us. Social media has shrunk the
world multi-fold - making connections and keeping in touch , one might
naturally gravitate to think , should have become easier and flexible with the
host of options available to our
disposal. However in reality, these connections have increasingly become weaker
and fragile.
I happened to come across an interesting idea from the world
of social sciences - The Dunbar Number. Essentially, its findings conclude that
humans are incapable of coping up with a social circle larger than 150 people.
As one research goes, the average size of modern hunter-gatherer communities,
it’s been calculated, is 148.8. The average size of army companies through
history, from the Romans to the USSR, comes close to around 150. And the
average number of people to whom any human, from a community would convey their
festive greetings ; no surprises, would again come at an approximate 153.5.
To accumulate friends to the tune of close to 1000s is in
itself a violation of the law as old as humanity.One would come across
innumerable instances where one might be connected on a host of social media
portals yet be completely oblivious to the other's existence. Though we are
virtually connected, but we seem to be still alone.
Increasingly ,we feel the need to be accepted and wowed for
the "sugar coated" moments of our feigned lifestyles. We do this to
gain a sense of belonging in a (virtual) world of people, more than half of
which really do not matter .We have come to quantify the basis of the
relationship on the number of "likes",
"shares","tags" and
fancy "check-ins" .
Given the current way of life , especially in the fast paced
metro cities, we have unconsciously come to develop a sense of yearning for the
weekend splurge. We tend to go a bit overboard with the socializing - perhaps a
means to break-free from the lack lustre routine of the 50 hour work week. And
this, we think of as friendship -in the midst of all the work timelines and
relationship woes.
Most of us sail the same boat and find this getaway over a
beer or two as comforting and secure on realizing a similar situation with
others . We have come to make do with good temporal company as an unintended
replacement for the deeper connect with "Friends"only to repeat the
same cycle on subsequent weekends. The same parties, the same boozing and the
same fancy check-ins and updates.
Not too long before we might start missing the days of being
unreachable.
