I Spy !

The Lives of Others. It could be the name of a German movie about a government spy whose vocation is to eavesdrop on normal people suspected of being "anti-government". It could also be a one-line precis of what most of us do for varying portions of a normal day on Facebook. Diverse as the name may mean, there are stark similarities. The spy listening to intimate conversations between a writer and his pretty wife, (who happens to be a theatre actress) evinces the same secret interest with which so many of us gape at the profile pages and photo albums of unknown people (like a friend's colleague's wife striking a pose in a satin saree or a nephew's neighbour's handsome husband standing in front of the Statue of Liberty) on the networking site. It is human nature to be inquisitive and there is no shame in it; unless you are caught in the act, in which case it is only mildly embarrassing.

The other similarity is the addictive nature of this act. The spy in the movie gets subconsciously drawn into the lives of his targets so much that he compromises his initial task of documenting the proceedings that would incriminate the "target". He gets drawn into the personal space of this couple thereby enmeshing in the cobweb of his own creation. Now, let us get back to Facebook. How often do we open our laptops (or desktops, for the old-fashioned few who have recently tasted the FB blood) intending to do tasks that are seemingly important, and then veer towards the lives of others; their culinary adventures, their honeymoon travels, no less their hysterical efforts of exhibiting self-importance? And when the FB-spell breaks (after an hour or four) it often leaves a trail of frustration, anger, mockery, or spite (you name it) that mostly have very little to do with oneself. And there is that spy in you, trapped in his own web!

Then there is the subsequent state-of-denial. The spy breaks himself free of his reverie. He sets about documenting the details of his finding to present as proof against his target. But somehow, the intrinsic curiosity to keep on spying (and thereby staying ensconced in the personal space of the couple) prevents him from submitting the damning evidence that would close the case. Very much the same with us, Facebook lovers. We break ourselves free from the FB-spell, curse our stars for having sacrificed an entire evening to mindless inquisitiveness and vow to purge the voyeuristic self; only to return like a software program trapped in an infinite loop. That new dress that unknown woman flaunted, the foreign trip that lucky couple made, that public spat two ladies are locked in, the embarrassing pics your friend's friend put up (and "tagged" your hapless friend) are too much to give up even though you know it's petty. You just cannot ignore the singing of the siren.

The similarity however ends there. Writing more about the movie is not possible without giving away the plot. It is indeed remarkable, a consummate spy thriller and a must watch. A slow reader (like me) though will have to play a constant catch-up game with the subtitles because of the speedily spoken German dialogues. But what about the spectacled-you whose nose is so close the the laptop screen (perusing another "profile" on FB you do not personally know) that the static charge is making your nose-hair stand on its end ? The Kim Philby in you refuses to give up, does he not ?

There is a spy in each one of us who wants to get inside someone else's head and investigate the proceedings. The reason behind why we do so could range from mere curiosity, to peer comparison, to oneupmanship, to an actual job (I remember reading somewhere about companies hiring people to go through Facebook profiles of aspiring applicants). Whichever it is, that is why we are a generation that loves Facebook despite knowing the time-waster it is.