We communicate a lot on social media these days. Our relationship is completely dependent on it. Social media platforms have also minimised in-person meetings and people have started interacting with friends and family members on these platforms.

Very few people use the landline for talking, but on Monday night, suddenly WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook came to an abrupt halt (“Social media services hit by massive global outage,” Oct.5, Gulf Today). People started calling each other on telephone, even the landline had started ringing which was otherwise silent for many years.

Though the halt was for a few hours, we felt as if it was for a few days. We felt our lives got crippled. It appeared as if the thrill from life had vanished and we were completely cut off from the outside world. Such is the impact of social media these days. I don’t know how people have survived in the past when there was no concept of social media at all.

Manish Mahapatra — By email