validation....

Today's generation(gen y or gen z?) is supposedly much more independent and confident than those of the yesteryears-be it a function of globalization or fast paced evolution. Even then why do we-the youngsters of the new millennium, seek constant validation? An all-pervasive manifestation of this being the social-networking websites-myspace,facebook,orkut....
what are these websites for in the very first place? Well,theoretically they are used to keep in touch with friends-near and far ,connect to and network with people hence making the world an even smaller place. There was a time when friends and loved ones would exchange handwritten letters and anxiously wait for the postman to deliver it-the love and friendship and affection were so palpable through the pages of the letters and their smell. Then comes the internet-the blessing and curse for modern youth. Emails make life way easier and save time and effort and so letters become obsolete-but what about the emotions involved? Do they also get commercialized in the process for all the new generation of netizens? And now it's the time for writing 'posts on the wall' as a way of keeping in touch or 'scrapping'-saves even more time and one can write even less and yet be in touch!It's magic! But do these innovations really bring us all closer together? Well..maybe I can ponder more over this in a later blog..
But what about the pictures we post,the endless albums we create in those 'networking' websites, (thanks of course to digital photography), the status updates we write, the applications we use? What purpose do they serve?Why do these networking companies even have such features on the websites? Not to mention how every myspacer or facebooker or orkutter religiously uses all these features and ends up spending all that extra time that gets saved by not having to write and post letters!
Are we subconsciously seeking validation of our own existence by showing off to everyone else snippets from our daily lives? pictures of our travel pursuits/parties attended and hence the fun associated with it/new dating partners/getting wasted on booze and hence being very cool/new dog/arbitrary snapshots of the nature or strangers on the road revealing the photographic skills; status updates re:what we are doing at any given point of time; adding all possible 'cool' applications and inviting friends to add them--how much time each day we spend on these? Why do we have to let everyone else know what we are doing and where we are going and with whom we are having fun? Does that mean the whole point of existence becomes futile if you can't show it off to others?
Aren't we the more self-confident, liberated,ambitious bunch of young people who are supposed to know what they want and go after it with passion disregarding silly norms and rules? If so, if we are so sure of ourselves, why do we feel this continuous urge of publicly exposing our life (and of course only the good things that happen-has anyone ever written a status update that reads 'I am so depressed and lonely' or post snaps of mundane,boring daily activities?) and telling people everywhere-we are happy and having fun and being cool? Why do we create a pretty/nice/smart/handsome perception of our personalities on these websites when in reality we can be quite far from it? Does it mean the more isolated we become, the more 'individual space' we seek, the more 'independent' we want to be, we also seek more and more assurance and approval re: our success and happiness over and above others competing in the same race from their isolated, miniscule, closed worlds? Is this a fall out of modernization and ambition or is it an intrinsic part of human nature-that the more secluded we become in pursuit of our self-defined happiness and success, the more insecure we get re:who we are in the very first place?