I am one of the most anti-social persons I know. I dropped my best friends from high school and rarely see or talk to the people from the neighborhood I grew up with. Though I have five sisters and two brothers, I usually only see them at holidays or special occasion. I dont hang out with people from work and rarely go out with anyone but my husband, who is best friend. I dont even own a cell phone!! Why, you ask? Because I dont want to be bothered with people calling me to talk while Im in the grocery store! In fact, I cringe when my phone rings at home and answering it requires alot of prompting on my part. I dare say I may have died a recluse with only my husband as a friend, if it werent from Facebook.
Facebook has allowed me to be social, without really being social. I have connected with my best friend from high school, other friends from the past, students Ive worked with, family, friends from the present that would have walked out of my life- never to be heard from again, even people I forgot I knew. It allows me to enteract with all of them without really investing much time or energy into the relationship. How perfect for me! I can get a glimpse of whats going on in their life without having to say a word, and if I want to say a word- its usually a short exchange of pleasantry and then on to the next topic. It is accesible, easy, time friendly and perfect for me!
I no longer have to watch the news which generally displays me as a killer, lazy, stupid, uncaring and violent. I can pick my own news sources on FB and get the news I want, rather that the redderick of people that dont like me. I have a place to share my voice and when something is eating at my soul, ( like the Sandusky rapes or Bush's whole presidency) and the mainstream media is sugar coating it or ignoring- I can share my outrage on FB and release this pain from me, which will surely eat me up inside, if I dont. And if anyone dare oppose me, I can chew you up and spit you out, because If I'm passionate about something-look out!
I also have a place to go to find out where the parties are at, where my favorite Dj's will be and which artist are coming to town, all with the glimsp of the screen and a click of a button.
Yes Facebook is my friend- the best kind of friend. One that makes me laugh, informs me, relates to me and often times "likes" me.
Although I rag on Facebook, I have reconnected with A LOT of people that I may have never seen again. And, like you, I tend to avoid the news, and as long as you can differentiate the news from the BS, it's surprising how caught up you be on current events just from your FB feed.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy Facebook. As you point out, it is so thoroughly manageable when we know how. The asynchronous communication is just right for me, because I don't like to be at someone else's beck and call. I can choose when to be on and when not to be on. However, I still find myself "hooked in" often longer than I intend...
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