Life & Style

Facebook withdrawal kicks in

May 25, 2010

KARACHI: The impact of access to Facebook being blocked has generated a massive response.

People who were obsessed with using the social networking website through their smartphones, and constantly updated their Facebook status, whether they were in their classrooms or at the office, are rather nostalgic . With cellular text messaging being one of the most receptive media to controversial issues in Pakistan, many people appreciate the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocking Facebook, while others are missing their favourite activities - liking, commenting, tagging, and updating on Facebook.

Amidst a number of serious text messages campaigning to report all sites promoting blasphemous content, a number of witty chain messages have rolled in, remembering the joys of the good old days of Facebook. We present the most popular chain messages doing the rounds:

1. (Sender) is very happy that Facebook is blocked :) … … … And I don’t know where to put this status now :(

2. Remember me? I was your best friend until you left me for your new love. There was a time I was closest to you. But then she took my place. Now your beloved has left you and has gone far away. But don’t cry. I am here and I am coming back to wipe your tears. You won’t miss her again because NOW I am your love, your friend and your confidante. Yours, Orkut

3. The third features a donkey made out of text characters. The statement above it reads: (Sender) has tagged a photo of you. The message is followed by a list of ‘feedbacks’ including “likes” and comments similar to those to photos posted on Facebook

Published in the Express Tribune, May 26th, 2010.

COMMENTS (8)

Hunain Ali | 13 years ago | Reply Tanveer: well they can't stop us from accessing Facebook :) Usman: IF You want to de-activate your FB account, I can help you :P Anis: IF we can't guide our children about using the services, we should not blame the services. Zarmina: Exactly, we Pakistanis promoted the page more than anyone did, 'that' page admin said that in a post since you don't use Facebook else i would had given you the link of the snapshot i took. All in All, regardless of the status updates the ones who suffered the most from the ban are the business people, NGOs and corporate entities who had their customer base and links all up through Facebook. I don't think they would lift the ban, but i do hope they do so they are able to resume their activities :)

zarmina | 13 years ago | Reply I feel it's sad that we brought such notice and fame to a page that would have died its own death. I dont use facebook, but I feel tolerance is what the prophet (peace be upon him) taught us. It's sad that we dont come out on the streets, to protest on issues that the Prophet (peace be upon him), would want us to protest about.