The word “friend” is basically of German origin and has been in existance in nearly unchanged for for tens of centuries. Basically it is derived from “fri” which stood for love, affection or liking. Of course we all know the value of friendship and there are many proverbs centered around this theme like

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed

This shows that friendship has been given high value and importance over different times, cultures and ages. This is perhaps due to the basic inherent tendency of human beings, or rather all living forms to find another soul who they can trust, have mutual understanding and share a delicate yet frank relation.

Traditionally the circle of friendship of people has been limited due to various factors including the limitations of technology but modern technology especially the latest concepts such as online socializing have added new dimensions to this concept.

Of course innovative people like Mark Zuckerberg have taken full advantage of this human tendency to churn millions and billions bucks of revenue, and it is possible even for an average common man to have hundreds and thousands of “friends” across the world in places he or she would never even visit.

Yet this is also led to the decline of the high value or worth attached to this otherwise indepth relation. Nowadays it is common for people to be social networking friends with others whom they have never met, hardly know a thing about them or would not like to stand by them for a second given an opportunity.

I am not one of those who despise technology and always favouring the ancient over the modern for it is best to imbibe useful things from either. If we do not look at the modern, we cannot develop or progress, yet we need to build the magnificent place of tomorrow on the strong foundations of the best and time tested values  of the past.

It must be remembered that technology in itself does not have any harmful or beneficial affects but it is the manner in which it is utilized and put to practise by the society that gives rise to the various pros and cons.

Of course there is no harm in using sites like Facebook and other hundreds of online social networking sites like say smsinside, one should always remember the limitations and the fundamental truth at the back of the mind.

This is especially required of the young and enthusiastic people and kids who are normally using such sites and getting to much drained of their energies whether physically, emotionally or even financially.

In my personal opinion it is best to consider sites like Facebook as forums and platforms where you interact with maximum number of people, try to gain as much as you can in terms of interaction with people who would not get a chance to interact due to physical, geographical or time limitations.

Yet getting too much involved in the same, to the extent to giving important portions of the times of the day to such sites and activities is something which needs to be checked by self discipline.

I have personally known people who prefer to use such sites the first thing in the morning, whereas most of the ancient Saints and Sages over the ages have been constantly preaching that it is the best time to meditate and achieve closeness to your own self rather than the world at such timings. This is just a small example of the misuse of such sites for self harm.

Of course these sites are great tools of social marketing, internet marketing and spreading message and awareness about things but beyond that they may not be good for psychology or physiology (health) of the people overusing them.

To cut the long story short, here are a few points explained in brief

Do’s

• Do indulge in social networking
• Do try out different people as friends
• Do communicate as much as you can (meaningfully) with online social friends
• Do try to find a common topic of interest
• Do try to use the platform to raise topics and issues of social good

Dont’s

• Dont waste unnecessary time on such sites especially the times which are excellent for the mind and brain like early morning or perhaps late nights
• Dont become too emotionally involved in such online friendships
• Dont share too many personal secrets of online friends
• Dont use the platforms to spread messages of hatred, violence or any immoral activities

Plus most important yet very simple advice – use your common sense as you would do in the real world and you would be much safer in this world of rife cyber crime.

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