The Internet has changed things, see? Either you belong, or you sit under a tree and do crossword puzzles. The World Wide Web is like this hugely popular soap that everybody watches, loves (or pretends to), and can't have enough of. The rest are left watching Kyonkii Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi all by themselves.

Those who aren't online either can't seem to get the hang of the whole thing (elementary stuff you and I take for granted) or don't care two hoots about it. Either way, they get a bad deal.

Ritu Singhal doesn't know much about the Internet. She smiles a faint smile when confronted with the baffling question: "Which messenger do you prefer?" A few seconds later she mumbles, "I don't surf".

Niall Fonseca identifies with Ritu. A student of journalism at the Xavier Institute of Communications, he says, "During a lecture, our professor once asked us to download some piece of information. I had no clue what 'download' meant, so I asked the guy next to me. He laughed like a maniac and the joke had to be repeated for the general entertainment of all present. Now, whenever I hear a term I don't understand, I simply try to look a lot wiser than I feel".

He probably hasn't heard the Chinese adage, "Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes, don't ask a question and you're a fool for a lifetime".

What Niall and Ritu prove, however, is that people who aren't part of the Internet revolution can sometimes feel left out. Apart from the feeling of ignorance this fosters, they also have to bear the brunt of self-styled Internet gurus roaming the streets.

Little wonder, then, that the hype puts most people off even attempting to surf. Like Smita Kundu, who joined a company not knowing that a major part of her work would involve the Internet. By the end of day one, she looked more like a nervous wreck than a freshly appointed secretary. Thinking back she says, "I didn't know what to do. Quit or admit ignorance? People kept hurling questions like, 'What's your mail ID?', 'Have you checked out usa.net?, 'Why don't you try google?' It was like Latin and Greek to me. I survived, but I wasn't happy."

Here's the deal, then, in this not so perfect world of ours. 'Give in or get out' is the order of the day and most prefer to give in. They believe it's their fault if they can't belong.

Three years ago, sound engineer Nilesh Salian was bitten by the Net bug. He learnt the tricks of the trade and embarked upon a new career in Web designing. Today, he's bored. "I miss my music and the 'people' environment. I don't want to design stuff that can be viewed on a computer screen any more." He's decided to get back to his first love, because that's where his heart is.

Some who try logging on quit because they find it all too bizarre. Suzanne Fernandes says she used to love surfing before she discovered another side to it. "I found the craziest ideas and weird exchanges in chat rooms. It made me wonder whether everyone was beginning to go mad. I couldn't relate to it, nor could I erase the feeling of being lost in a maze." She has given up surfing since. "I would rather spend time nurturing real relationships than getting hooked on to virtual ones." And that's that.

Some like to follow the crowd. Some don't.

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