Recently Facebook came out with this highly controversial decision to put a cap on the number of ‘friends’ you can add on your list. 5000 was decided as the magic number and buddy, if you had more ‘friends’ then you just had to delete some to make way for the new. Isn’t that the way of the world?-it asked. Science tells us that the human brain can process only under 300 active connections or ‘friends’ at a time. The way the well meaning people at Facebook saw it 5000 was a generous number. But as it turned out the members thought otherwise..

Those who opposed the movie argued that the number of friends that you have in your Facebook page should, by common sense, be an indicator of how popular or likeable you are. There is a whole section of population in cyberspace who, in their quest for establishing popularity in cyberspace, are constantly struggling to add more and more connections to their page. So if you have exchanged a friendly greeting with this person while going to pick up your child from school, then rest assured you can expect a friend request waiting at home for you. Ever spoke to your rather unfriendly neighbour’s teenage daughter in the elevator? Chance is that while her dad might be plotting to think up of new and innovative ways to make your life miserable, she has sent a friend request to you. And what happens once these people are added. Post photographs and you get inane comments from people you barely know. Some are too tired to type and simply post a smiley. Hell, if a smiley was all that you had to say then pray, why say anything at all???

There is a whole bunch of people with whom you could probably not carry on a conversation in person but get along with like a house on fire in cyberspace. You would regularly comment on their status updates, which can read anything like-“I am sleeping” to “my cat just died”. People allow you to peak into their personal lives but using a filter that is set on their terms. An extremely shy and reticent person could be this uber chic and cool person online. You choose the theme and the tone of conversation carefully- fully aware that you are almost living an alternate life online. So a frazzled, depressed and lonely housewife is transformed to a rock music loving, sexy kitten online. Social networking sites offer the opportunity to let others see you the way you see yourself. There are no expectations and no commitments. You are allowed the freedom to like or unlike anyone and everyone. In that respect it can be both liberating and restrictive at the same time. Liberating because you get to set the rules and restrictive because you are constantly under pressure to preserve the cyber image that you have cultivated for yourself.

So dear Facebook, while for you 5000 may only be a number for hundreds of others out there it’s a barometer of their self esteem. Cyborgs will always look for ways to circumvent the ceiling-whether by starting their own fan pages or by having multiple accounts. At the end of the day it’s about projecting your personality and for some people bigger is better.