Sorry baby, I was at fault’, ‘kisses and hugs’, ‘it’s super cool to be back with you’. These are the status updates on the Facebook wall of a teen lover who’s fearlessly pouring his heart out on the Web.
Thus, writing on the wall, which includes links to romantic videos and warm apologies, hint at PDA (public display of affection) and has a whole new meaning for Gen Y.
Thanks to social networking sites, youngsters are no longer keen on keeping personal relations “private”. “If you are sure about yourself and with whom you are, there’s nothing wrong in uploading a few photographs together,” opines Shireen Parhi, a 20-year-old student from Hansraj College, Delhi University, who’s in a relationship with Anubhav Vatsayan for more than a year now.
Having said that, Shireen also knows where to draw the line. “Just to display your pictures to publicise that you are dating someone is not at all cool. I?only pick the pictures I look pretty in,” she smiles.
Then there are others who have a ‘message’ to put across. Eighteen-year-old Aseem Sachdeva’s profile with girlfriend Kalika Mehra, 17, declares how blissful the two are together. “Right now this is my best photograph and that’s why I used it on my profile,” says Aseem, who’s just entered college, and knows Kalika for a year. “Even she has used the same snap for her FB profile,” he adds.
Also, many are even flashing minute-by-minute updates about their love life on the micro-blogging site Twitter. “If I’m having a good time with my beau in a nice café, and enjoying a cool drink, I can’t resist making my friends jealous,” says 18-year-old student, Riya Bose.
Interestingly, they don’t for a moment sound edgy or fussy about displaying their affection publicly. What if their parents get a sneak peak of their Facebook updates? “So what? There is no big deal about it, after all we are just ‘good friends’,” winks Aseem. “In case of a tiff between us, our common friends, who are concerned about our relationship need to be in the know of the latest developments,” adds Riya.