When fake becomes life threatening, how far can anyone go to hide one’s real identity? Web of deceit — social networking sites have no doubt, united lost friends, but it’s also a platform to forge new relationships some based on truth and most based on lies.
An online affair between a 20-year-old girl and a man from Kannur went horribly wrong and led to the girl taking her life in a city hostel. The relationship between Anju and a sales executive soured after the man came to know that the photograph Anju had posted on her Orkut profile was, in fact, of her friend.
Lying for many youngsters is the easy way out minus guilt, after all, how hard can it be to create untrue stuff about one’s personality? So, if you’re short, you can lie about your height, weight, colour of skin, and even post a fake photograph.
Mohd. Ali, a professional shares, “My close friend befriended a girl on Orkut. Since both were from a similar profession, they got along well and even exchanged pictures. However, he was in for a shock when he met her. She was not the girl in the photo he had liked. She was short, and different. They had coffee and he even dropped her back to office, but it was the last time they met.”
Anjali Sharma, a student (name changed) reveals why she created a fake profile. “I felt awkward about befriending my neighbour. We’d exchange pleasantries, but there was nothing beyond that. I created a fake profile and became his friend. It was barely few days, and he repeatedly asked to meet me. I feared his response, but when we met, he took the matter lightly, but stated he didn’t want to continue our friendship,” she says.
Fed up with over 150 friends in his profile, whom he barely knew, Aman Pervez deleted his Facebook account and created another one. “Of those 150 so called friends, I had 10 real friends. I have met many girls who have no qualms lying. This one girl, on Orkut, was just 15 years old and lied about not only her age, but also sent me photos of her older friend. When I confronted her, she responded saying she’s not good looking, so she sent another photograph,” he adds.