The rapidly catching on phenomenon of social networking on the Net presents both problems and opportunities, arising from the intimacy with strangers. Because it cannot be wished off, it’s prudent to learn how to live with it than without it.    
 
SOCIAL NETWORK SITES like Orkut have attracted a lot of attention lately. Social networks on the web have set a new global trend of seeking friendships or relationships online, but it’s not all fun and games. Orkut recently made news for all the wrong reasons and it has been claimed that such networks make stalking and soliciting much easier.
 
However, Orkut addicts are not deterred by the bad press. “Instead of paranoia, we need greater awareness among young people, and more effective legal measures to curb cyber crime,” says Dina Mehta, a news media researcher.
 
I agree with Dina. I am a part of Orkut and of a few other such networks and although I haven’t found Orkut particularly helpful in any way yet, I feel that online connections can certainly be used wisely. I have benefited from them in many unexpected ways.
 
A couple of years ago, while surfing the net, I came across a yahoo group whose profile interested me and I signed up. Those days, there was no Orkut or Hi5 – only yahoo groups, ICQ groups and MSN groups were there, which, of course, are still around. The yahoo groups were and possibly are still a dressed down version of the social network sites. Anyway, I signed up for this yahoo group and found out that it had some members whom I happened to know, but many more that I didn’t. Activity on these groups increased when topics like sexuality were debated and discussed.
 
Sometimes, I participated in the discussions online. I also enjoyed just sitting back and watching the flow of thought. By participating in such discussions, one gets to know what young people in general or at least people in the group believe about a particular issue.
 
Most members of the groups were from those towns and cities where internet was easily available. Eventually, I got to know many of the participants through their postings and thought that it would be a good idea to meet some of them in person. My job involved travelling and in the course of a year, I would often travel through all the major cities and towns. Eventually, I started posting in the forum whenever I would be in a particular city and add my cell number with the note that I would love to meet as many members as possible. Many responded positively and we would meet in coffee houses, homes, etc. Although, there were no fixed agendas in these meetings, common values and interests often forged deep bonds, which would continue to nurture offline as well. 
 
Over time as these relationships deepened, some of us got to know each other really well. A couple of years ago, I was looking for authors to work on a book. When I had tapped all my locally available friends and still needed some more people, I turned to my online community friends — many of whom were now good friends — and they came to my rescue. When the book was published, I could only sit back and marvel at the fact that a big chunk of the work came from people I had first met online and whom in the normal course, I would never have known. Then eventually, I decided to attempt a second collaborative work and again a large chunk of contributors came from the online community.
 
The yahoo group I was part of was a mature, sensitive one and my experience has been almost entirely positive. Many others too have had rewarding experiences. There are other stories we keep reading from time to time about online romances ripening into offline marriages and these are all good things. Of course, there are some online horror stories too. But while it’s true that cyber crime is largely unmonitored in India at the moment, the potential dangers in social networking communities are minimal if one takes reasonable precautions.
 
Like it or not, a major part of our life is going to be played out online in the future. So, instead of moral panic, we need to confront and deal with the risks of this technology, as well as tap into the huge possibilities of this techno savvy world.