Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have become part of modern life. All three are a wonderful way to connect with and communicate with friends and family. Technology has made the world smaller and in some cases brought the past back to us. Not all of this is good however.
I’m on one of these social networks and have found countless old friends whom I have lost touch with. I’ve kept in touch with family. And I’ve have had the creepy older brother of a friend send me a “friend hug” and countless drinks. Ugh. That’s the problem with these social networking sites. Sure, you can find long lost friends and all, but they can also find you. I have people I wouldn’t say Hi to if I bumped into them in a foreign country, and yet they’re want to know my result on the ‘What movie character would you be?’ survey. I have a woman I haven’t spoken to since I was 13 years old sending me flowers, blenders, and farm animals daily.
Then there’s the status updates. I’ll put one up if I actually do something that’s somewhat out of the ordinary or if I think of something funny or original to say, but really do all these people care if I’m frustrated that it rained on my weekend, or what I cooked for dinner, or what my most recent workout consisted of, or what the hell my mood is at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon? I don’t care about these things about myself, and I’m pretty sure no one else cares about the minutiae of my day. Have we become such an insipid, needy society that we can’t do anything without needing validation from someone? And does no one have any personal boundaries anymore? Just because people spill their guts on Dr. Phil doesn’t mean that I need to know the same things about you just because the anonymity of the internet hides my horrified look and snide comment from you. If you’re getting divorced, have a family member dying, or just found out your best friend is gay and in love with you, does it really help you if “5 people liked this”?
I am not a friend whore. Some people have literally hundreds of “friends” that they’ve never met or even sent an e-mail to. Never heard their voice, and yet these same anonymous friends get to see pictures of their family and know what’s going on virtually every hour of their lives. I guess you can never have too many friends. That being said, I’m on Facebook as Fill Taylor. That’s right, with an F. There are literally hundreds spelled the other way, so the differentiation makes me easier to find. Feel free to “friend” me. I look forward to hearing about your day.