Is Social Media Networking Creating Loners?

What would happen if no one responds to our Facebook or Twitter updates for a month, if no one texts us back, if we don't receive any personal email for a week? Do you think we would survive the loneliness? Would we think about dropping by some of our friends or relatives place to check up on them? What would it take to push us over the edge?

This new era of social media networking is cool. One click of a button and woala, I am on Facebook. I am updated on everything that is going on in my friends or relatives lives. What did they do yesterday, who is going on vacation, what did they ate last night, who is visiting, and any new endeavor they are planning to undertake. I receive text messages on funny jokes, status updates, and phone number changes

I reply, like and post comments back, and even wish them Happy Birthday through Facebook or text message.

What happened to those days when we used to pick up the phone and talk for hours with our close friends and families, or call up relatives occasionally to see how they are doing? Growing up in India, I did not have any phone in my house until I was in 10th grade. The only way to keep in touch was to write letters, and meet with friends/relatives often. 

In India, we used to give surprise visits and show up to our friends or relatives place on a week day evenings or on weekends without prior notification. Most of the time, we used to find someone at home, and they would be very welcoming. We will spend few hours socializing and our very pleasant host would be preparing impromptu snacks for the unexpected guests. In India we consider guests as God and welcome any opportunity to serve our guests. Obviously this sometimes means inconvenience. We have had occasions where we showed up at our friends/relatives door and no one is at home or they are about to leave for other commitments. We will leave a hand written note to let them know we came to visit, and we even used to chat with their neighbors who will tell us about what is going on in the neighborhood, and where our relatives are :) How fun.

What happened to those face to face visits over the weekend or during evenings? Does it feel like a drag when you have to go and visit your friends and relatives? How often do you do it?

Have you participated in group sports recently where you have socialized and participated outdoors in a game with friends or even strangers? How often do you do it? Is it every day? once a week? once a month? or once every few months? What did you play?

Today most of our sporting activity is on Wii, or Xbox, or PlayStation, or any video gaming device. We play for fun, for competition, or for exercise, and proudly post our scores online and share with our web friends.

The socialization that once used to be through face to face visits, paper greeting cards, phone calls, and regular mail, is now taken over by text messages, Facebook and Twitter updates, online greeting cards and emails. 

I wonder if we have fallen victim to the social media networking and become loners who gaze at the shiny laptop screen or our smartest friend 'The Smart Phone' all day long.