I think I hate the net....but do I?

I was in Delhi with hubby and kids for the last 7 days. Thanks to the net, all my friends knew I'd be there, they knew where I was staying, knew how long I was there and it was only through the net that some of them messaged me and told me they would "love to meet up" with me. They somehow never found the time to call or come over and I realised that the net is the most impersonal thing I've ever come across. It lets people lie to you, it lets people tell you things they don't really mean and most of all, it widens the gap between two individuals by giving them the option of not talking to each other and yet sending their messages to and fro. I was reminded of the times when as a kid we would fight with our best friend and then ask another friend to play the messenger. Of course, we were all pretty naive then and did not know the nuances of verbal and non verbal communication. But now that I'm old and mature enough to read between the lines, I understand that the net is just a veil that we cover our faces with so that nobody really knows if we truly mean what we are saying. This whole idea of communicating over a social networking site seems like a farce but I guess sometimes it's better to have this superficial connection with people than no connection at all. I was rather upset and the objects of my annoyance were not only my friends but the internet too which had made it so easy for them to message me and get away with it. (Had they called, they would've had it...) But that was yesterday.

We put up at the boarding school where we used to work (before we moved to Hardwar) as my sister in law is still there. This time we'd gone there with a specific motive in mind. The idea of taking a week long vacation in Delhi was to meet up with old friends (definitely)but most of all we wanted to spend some meaningful time with a young boy (a student of that boarding school) we are extremely close to and who has just gone through a very trying time. We saw that child everyday. He would visit us, play with the kids, have his meal with us and on one occasion even went out of campus with us. All in all, the boy must've spent several hours every day in our company.

Now, he's always been extremely shy and reticent and of course, that's not something that would change overnight. Yet, he spoke to us and smiled at the appropriate places and pauses so much so that I was led into believing that he's fine now and has come to terms with his loss.
The same boy when I spoke to him over the phone just before reaching home, told me that he was writing a mail to my husband and me. We reached home and I checked my mail and could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the longest mail I've ever seen. Not only that, he was online when I was reading his mail. I started to chat with him and for the first time he poured his heart out. We chatted for over 2 hours and he opened up like never before. We talked about his worries, his anxieties, apprehensions, everything and for once I was glad that there's something like the net to connect to people with. Because of the distance and the privacy, the child could express things he would and could never express as long as we were physically there with him. After that long long chat when I finally bid goodbye to him, I could almost feel his relief and I can't put into words how relieved I was. He admitted that it was much easier for him to communicate in this manner and I know that's true.

But where does that leave my feelings for my dear friends? I am still cross at them...they should've called me. However, for all the friends who make false promises over the net , if there is one person who can vent out his feelings through the same medium, I think it's good enough. I can live with that.