Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Thinking about facebook
Over the past few months, I have become a daily user of facebook. During that time, I have reconnected with scores of old friends from high school to grad school to California, where I lived for 3 years in my late twenties. While facebook may be a less elegant way to remain in touch than pen and paper, it is a much more effective one. Although I use facebook daily, I remain uneasy about its impact in our lives. Right now, it is the primary way I keep in touch with people with whom I would have little or no relationship otherwise, but I'm wondering when and if it will replace real, actual interactions with other people, my local friends, the people I now see regularly...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I was grappling with, essentially, the same issue - am I isolating myself from my real, flesh-and-blood, friends, while spending excessive time in the virtual "community" I've established through facebook?
Though I have no clear answer one way or another, I'll share a couple of recent experiences:
About a month ago, a facebook "event invitation" went out to the people who had joined groups opposing CA's Proposition 8. The following weekend, I stood with hundreds of other - real - people on the State House Lawn. Many of these people were my real-life friends and acquaintances, others were like-minded individuals I was meeting for the first time. It was great to see and hug and talk with these folks. Our encounter wouldn't have happened without that initial connection through facebook.
More recently (yesterday, in fact), I reunited with friends who had all but dropped off the face of the earth. Admittedly, a few of these "friends" will remain in the virtual world - occasionally touching base with a witty comment or a short message - but the others have resumed places of great importance in my life. Our interactions are real and meaningful. In fact, as I recall, it was an Instant Message that led me to this blog.
In a way, I feel a bit like the opium eater extolling the healthful benefits of his habit.
For the time being, I'm happy to be the rat in the maze - unsure of the outcome; hoping for cheese.
Post a Comment