PRITI THAPA, a post-graduate student from Darjeeling is always at the opposite end of her mother’s outburst as she is for eternity logged onto Facebook. Priti considers herself to be a Facebook addict, as she uses Facebook for more than 5–6 hours per day. She says, “It helps me in being constant touch with my friends, who are scattered all over the world”. Presently, she is enjoying her holiday at Kolkata, still she cannot keep herself away from Facebook, so she logs in using her mobile phone, though her connection is sometimes found wanting. But she says, “Something is better than nothing”.
As of September 2011 in India alone, there were more than 34 million Facebook users. The numbers have been increasing every month. Another such user, Kriti Batra, who was born and brought up in Mumbai, cannot do without Facebook. She says, “On days when I am not able to access Facebook, I call up my friends and ask them about the various posts and comments.” This way she is always updated about the happenings on Facebook.
It's not surprising then to read about a recent study conducted in US. According to findings Facebook and Twitter are very difficult to resist than even cigarettes or alcohol, reported Fox News. But not everyone is addicted to Facebook. An alumni from Saint Stephens, Parag Ekka says, “I only log in to Facebook for half an hour, that too, not daily”. But, Parag may be 1 out of 100 cases, where they do not log in daily. Nishath Nizar, works for Sports Illustrated (website, India) uses Facebook for around 10 hrs on a daily basis. But he uses it primarily for office work. He says, “I normally post the stories in Facebook, which helps getting in more readers to the website”. So, companies are using Facebook to promote various events and users showcase their creativity, (arts, photography, poetry etc). It is not only used as a means of entertainment.
Though, Twitter may not be that popular as compared to Facebook, but still, it has its share of followers in the country. It is through this platform they stay connected with celebrities all around the world. One may not find many twitter addicts in India. Nishath says, “Most of the times I would be using Twitter in my cell phone when I am travelling and keep a check on the happenings around the world, by scanning through tweets”. It is impossible for Twitter to outnumber Facebook, which is the most used social networking website in India.
In fact, Facebook has become a way of life for many people in India. One look at some of the status on Facebook during the last hour reflects a personal diary of the users. A friend from Dubai, Niranjan Gurung, post read, “missing”. Nishant Lama has posted “Swimming”, So, Facebook has made our life an open book. Mona Chhetri, posted her status from her classroom using a mobile phone in a very apt manner summarizing the entire story about Facebook addiction, “Its good 2 be a back bencher sometimes. You can log in any time”.
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