Prerana Upadhyay

I am no social predator and of course I don’t have a slightest streak of a would-be-criminal. Neither am I an unsupervised juvenile exploit. I am simply a self-confessed net freak who loves to be around, online. For me, the virtual world is the most happening place in the world. It has the solution to the whole gamut of my problems. Down? Feeling low? Or want to explode on someone or want to express those feelings? I unleash myself — with the bourne identity, I reveal many things about myself without any regrets or fear of being cheated or betrayed, and it always helps to vent out the bottled feelings and emotions, the perfect outlet to beat the blues. I have created my own virtual community, which is a heterogeneous mixture of ethnic, religious, socio-economic, occupational and many other sub-communities. My buddies are among those in 15 to 65-year-old age bracket.

The modern world is tech-driven. And almost everyone lives three different kinds of lives — public, private and secret. In public life we don a mask of people and culture to disguise our real self while living for others. Inside the high walls of home amongst the close family and friends, we have our private life. Then there is the world of our fantasies, desires and the closely guarded feelings. Thanks to technology, we now have another — virtual life. The virtual world. It is the sum total of all three personae. Technology has revolutionised the way people from across the globe can meet each other and establish relationships. It is where we feel whole and we are psychologically sound eno-ugh to hear and speak the truth, where we are assertive rather than aggressive, wh-ere we are open to others and be compassionate ra-ther than being manipulative and secretive. We are capable of embracing life and enjoying the moment, without distorted by a defensive battle between fake desires on one side, and self-reproaches, prohibitions, and taboos on the other. These days online socialising is going mainstream. It is a safe haven for likeminded individuals. But while doing this I have not lost touch with my real self. Of course, there is always the conservative brigade, quick to blame the Internet for all things glossy and glamorous.