Facebook Failure

So for some time now, I have been asked by many people, if I was on Facebook. "No," I would always say, "I already find enough reasons to tell my kids to wait a minute." But then my dearest husband joined. And I could not handle the idea that he would be on there and I would not. I"m not sure what this says about me. Perhaps it's the competitor in me. Perhaps, and this is a little uglier, it's a leech-like desire to be part of everything in his life, lest there would be a moment without me in his. But for whatever the reason, I am now a member. And I have a few thoughts on the experience thus far...

First thought-Do some of these people do anything else with their day?? Seriously if you post a thought more than 2X's a day(and here I feel I'm being generous) then I think you have an addiction problem. Or perhaps you prefer other people's reality to your own, which is a sad thought and if it applies to you then I am sad for you, reader. Mostly I think it falls within the same feelings I have about cell phones. They are such fabulous aides. What wonderful technology that will save countless lives, but at a price. Not merely monetary, as people have found ways to waste money in every generation. But at the cost of the here and now. How many times do you see people with their heads down texting away without any regard to their surroundings? Or perhaps a mother or a father makes it to their child's game only to talk on their cell-phone the entire time. Yes, technically, they are present. But never fully. It seems that if we are never fully present, then we can never fully appreciate the eperience. So similarly, I feel Facebook provides this life-distracting venue to allow us one more way to ignore the things that ought not be ignored. For some that is their children, others their work, for me, it's laundry.

Second thought-There a many people out there who are willing to give up much of their privacy. Nothing vulgar of course, but just the privacy of their life in general. I do think this next generation will have a different view on privacy, as so much can be seen through a computer.

Third thought- And this one is a positive one for Facebook and other outlets like it. It makes me feel a connection with those people I know without having to pick up the phone and have a conversation. This is important for this time in my life since I have small kids at home. And as soon as I pick up the phone they can sense this and immediately find things to ask me for or start to bicker with eachother. It's one of the wonders of small kids. I'm not sure how this sense has evolved over time but I'm pretty sure that it was a wretched form of punishment from God for the whole apple in the garden incident.

And so I have fallen prey to the Facebook black hole. (I'm so ashamed Elissa). But feeling that everyday connection is sometimes like a rope that pulls you back to your center.