-Niha MasihVipul works with a call centre in New Delhi. He works from 10 pm to 6 am. The back to back calls exhaust him no end. He revives himself in the small four breaks he gets daily by drowning himself in a sea of smoke. Each puff takes him into another world of make believe where he feels he is dealing with his boredom and fatigue.
This is just one of the myriad stories of young chain smokers. Smoking kills. Yet smoking is almost a cult especially among youngsters. What is it about smoking that people find irresistible? Amit, a 25 years old chain smoker admits, “I took my first puff in class 10th at the insistence of my friends. Though I did not enjoy it much I would do it with friends as I did not want to appear uncool. With time it became a habit and now I can’t do without it.” Most students start smoking in school like Amit because of sheer peer pressure.
The same sentiment finds echo in a lot of others. Egged on by friends, giving in to temptation is something we all can relate to. Says Meera, a young housewife: “There is a certain coolness quotient attached to things like smoking and drinking and at a young and impressionable age it is easy to get hooked.” Also for the youth cigarettes are affordable as one need not buy a whole pack but just a few loose cigarettes for daily consumption. The market currently is flooded with numerous brands and caters to every kind of budget.
For many like Amit or Vipul, smoking is more than just lighting up a cigarette. It is also a stress buster and is often an easy escape route from drudgery. Tina, a 21 year old college student says: “Smoking helps me de stress. Its like sort of a friend whom I turn to whenever I want. It might be psychological but I definitely feel better. All my worries just blow away in the smoke.” Most people know that smoking does not give a high like alcohol or give a high so they condition themselves into thinking that it makes them feel better.
Health hazards related to smoking are many yet not many are ready to quit. Perhaps, this is due to lack of proper knowledge. An important thing to keep in mind here is that unlike drinking and substance abuse, smoking does not have any immediate after effect.
Rohan, a 27 years old engineer, working with a software company says: “The problem with people not being able to quit smoking despite all the heath hazards is because there is no guarantee of a disease though chances might be high. Just because I might have throat cancer after ten years I can’t give up on smoking. Why care about it from now.”
In India, a staggering 2000 people die of smoking everyday. The Health Minister has been quoted saying that almost 40% of deaths are caused by tobacco related diseases and two thirds due to smoking, junk food and drug abuse. The Ministry of Health imposed a nationwide ban on smoking from October 2nd 2008. It is now illegal to smoke in shopping malls, cinema halls, work places, hotels, banquet halls, discotheques, canteens, coffee houses, pubs, bars, airport lounges and the railway station. Smoking on roads and at home is permitted. The fine for violating the law is Rs. 200. Whether this ban which is poorly enforced will lessen the rising number of deaths remains to be seen. One thing is certain: Smoking kills.
niha.masih@gmail.com
It's not just coffee. It's conversations, connections and more...
-Ankita Khare
Just as every man has his hobbyhorse; coffee has its own fans. It enjoys a long history and rich culture. Complimenting this heritage, the modern coffee corners in Delhi, like many others around the world, have created a special niche for themselves. There is no doubt that these coffee joints have created an atmosphere which is more addictive than the caffeine itself.
“The hip-hop music, an economical menu and a ‘classy’ ambience act like opium for people of all genres. It is amazing to watch an old staunch man reading his newspaper while the couple sitting next to him continues to get intimate with every passing moment. It is a perfect place for social interaction,” says Parth Goswami, a Delhi University final year law student and Barista-addict.
It all started in the nineties with the boom in the Indian economy taking off. One symbol of change was the sudden mushrooming of Baristas and Café Coffee Days not only in metros, but also in small towns. It was a refreshing change for the young who till then frequented the typical coffee houses.
Confirms K S Rao, a middle-aged real-estate agent and a casual Barista visitor: “Some two decades ago, there were hardly any coffee shops in the city. I can only recall Indian Coffee House at Connaught Place. The environment there was extremely informal. The crowd was mainly dominated by old people while students hardly approached these places...Baristas and Café Coffee Days are a welcome change to this scenario.”
Almost everything within is adorable. Loud music. Semi-formal interiors. Decorated coffee froth. Someone playing the guitar. Air conditioned wi-fi environment. An affordable menu.
Yet, there are some who want a change.
“The arrangement is not very comfortable. The music is too loud. It is better in America. They have more options there. We have a lot of catching up to do in India,” suggests Harsha Misra, an America-returned business executive.
Some even blame these new social networking places for “westernizing our good old Indian Culture,” says 50-year-old home-maker Aditi Asthana, “The youth has suddenly discovered a new meaning of being in love—it is all about hanging out at a coffee shop, blowing their parents money and getting cozy. Youngsters are turning into nocturnal animals, courtesy these 24X7 coffee bars.”
However, even after all the criticism, the city’s coffee culture continues to gather steam. And when it comes to social networking, Baristas, Costas and Café Coffee Days are considered no less than Orkut or Facebook--only with a better face value.
So as people continue to discover new meanings of networking at these bars, even a coffee hater is compelled to tell his buddies… “see ya at the coffee shop.”
Are you being held hostage by social networking and social media? Is it keeping you back or keeping you inside? Are you too tied up by it to break free for even a minute?
If yes, then there’s a good chance you’re being held hostage. You are a hostage of social networking. You are one among 17 million Indians who are estimated to visit social networks each day.
Raj Tandon is in his early twenties and is Linguistics lead with Google India. This is his first job. He puts ten hours translating Google products and 2 hours commuting to office but he still finds time to spend two hours each day catching up the latest from his peers at various social networks. “I can’t let my mobile bills hit the roof by calling all my friends or acquaintances so social networks are the cheapest mode to be in touch,” remarks Raj.
Chronology of Social Networks
Year = Social network founded
* 1995 = Classmates.com
* 1997 = Six Degrees of Separation
* 1999 = Circle of Friends
* 2002 = Friendster.com
* 2003 = MySpace.com
* 2004 = Orkut.com
* 2004 = Facebook.com
* 2005 = Yahoo! 360
Source: Internet
Raj is not alone who is spending time on these sites. An overwhelming majority of corporate executives is India is doing so. According to a survey by leading market research firm Synovate, 79 per cent executives are members of one or more social networking sites. Breaking away from the conventional wisdom that social networks are teenage crushes, more and more adults have started being a part of this new age revolution.
There is an increase in the absolute number of the 35+ age group on social networks, but because of the sheer pace at which younger people are taking to social network, their percentage remains small, claims the survey report of Synovate.
Social network sites as basically web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. This social networking phenomenon started in 1997 with the launch of Sixdegress.com. It allowed users to create profiles, list their Friends and surf the friends lists. Since 1997, progress is tremendous; today 57% of the total internet users are the members of these websites.
Networking sites in India are surely are a big hit, with Orkut and Youtube leading from the front, while their desi counterparts like Bigadda are also not lagging behind. Popular online professional networking site LinkedIn is also fetching good numbers more than Facebook, the worldwide winner. Today these websites are not limited to their basic portfolio of a meeting place for peers; these sites have also been started to be used like a job search engine, finding funds for start-up ventures, advertising and helping in crime investigations to name a few.
Top SNS in India*
1.Orkut
2.Youtube
3.Big Adda
4.HI5
5.LinkedIn
6.Facebook
7.Yahoo! 360
Source: Synovate
In one such incident, Orkut helped in cracking the murder mystery of TCS engineer Koushambi Layek in year 2007. Layek was murdered in a Mumbai hotel, and Orkut merged as a source of information gathering for security agencies, which were otherwise clueless.
Threat to privacy, account hacking incidents and unwanted friend requests remain the negative sides of these networking sites. Nivedita, a student of International Relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University says: “Girls are the worst victims of such unnecessary friend requests; my inbox is full of such requests. If people I don’t know request to be my friend, I block them.”
Priyanka, a media student says that she is more cautious with such unwanted requests. “Two weeks ago, I got a friend request. And one of my friends hit approve. And the person, this guy started sending me weird comments; he’s sent me these comments like oh, you’re so hot, and where do you live? I want to meet you. That gets a little weird,” says Priyanka.
Even though there are flaws in online social networking, no one seems to give them any importance. All facts withstanding, the truth is that in the ever evolving world of Internet, the Social Networking Websites have heralded a new era of interpersonal communication. They have bridged the gap between human beings even more than telephone or emails giving a real meaning to the word Social Networking and helping people build Relationships that last a life time.
But the real beauty of social media is that you get responses real-time and on-the-fly. And that, in a country where even the epics have been passed down the generations by word of mouth, means that social media will probably explode and will change the way we communicate.