One day, I could smell a nice dish from the adjacent house. "Why is that when we cook anything, we don't get that kind of good smell", I was saying it in a loud voice to my mother. She replied softly " They might have used different masala powder, if we use the same, we would also get the same smell". In the same loud voice I asked why don't she ask what masala they were using. She asked me to keep quiet. I went on nagging if I could go and ask them for which she denied. About an hour later, when we were about to sit for dinner, there was a knock on our door. I sprang to the door and opened it. There was a lady with a bowl in her hand with the same smell as before. Behind her were her kids( only heads propping out from either side) waiting for our approval to come inside.
She along with the kids came in and started to introduce, while I did the same with the other kids. The bowl had biryani in it. Initially my mother felt shy, if my loud comments forced her to do this. But she explained that someday, being neighbors, have to get introduced. From then on it was almost like both homes combined. Though there were physical concrete walls separating both the homes, the social walls ceased to exist. We could imagine what the other person was doing at what time without even communicating. The sync-up was so good that, we didn't have to call each other to come-out and play, we automatically used to guess the time and stepped out at the same time.
In less than an year, these social walls started to diminish and all the kids from all the houses got entangled with one-another emotionally. It was like our own world without walls of separation or distinction. Everyone became part of other's own life. Every aspect of our daily life had become a common entity. The so called social network started to expand and friend's friends have become our own friends with same level of intimacy. These networks were though smaller yet thicker. The bond and the freedom to get into other's space was stronger then, than now.
With the evolution of internet today it feels like the whole world is connected to one another. The social networking sites like facebook, orkut etc, help us in rebuilding the lost connections among us. We only feel we are connected to one-another. Each person is only an electronic entity in other's contact/friend list. Though this connectivity extends all across the globe, the true social and emotional strengths of the network was not as it was before. There exists more of attach/detach policy on need basis within the same network of friends. Newer friends take priority over older friends. Electronically the network of friends increases yet, socially "most popular" take precedence, keeping the factual friends list low. Social walls seem to build up again. These walls go stronger when a person becomes more self-centric and is lived and contained within himself.
Take for instance an example of mobile phone. Of all the friends in the contact list, there is a speed dial/ favorites list where in you call the top 10 frequently. This itself creates a SOCIAL WALL around the remaining friends. The bond is thick with some and thin with others. Electronically all are connected, yet only few are emotionally and socially connected.
When these social networks go stronger and stronger emotionally, the World Without Walls would be a more happier place than it was before.
Tail Piece: Sometimes these social networks are quite funny. In my linkedin profile, there is only one connection between me and US President Barack Obama. Electronically he and I are connected through a common contact, yet socially we are miles apart.
