Where Can You Talk to a Wall and Not Look Like an Idiot

Several years ago, I discovered MySpace and my online life completely changed. With time, I switched over to Facebook and really started spending time online. As we all know, Facebook has revolutionized the way people use the internet to communicate. We are in contact with each other in ways previously unimagined, but is it too much?

Before I get started, I want to make it clear from the beginning that this is NOT an anti-Facebook or anti-social media post. I may stray into the anti-stupidity realm, but that is the fault of our education system and poor parenting skills. Facebook and Twitter are just the places that stupidity gets displayed.

There are many social media sites out there, but I will be concentrating on Facebook.

Like many people, I have appreciated being able to reconnect with old friends and family, but in most circumstances, the reunion was a letdown. After the quick "Hey, what's up?" it's over and now you're stuck with another friend on your friend list that you will never talk to. Sure, you can delete him, but then you feel like an idiot for adding him to begin with. What did you think was going to happen? Did you expect to pick up right where you left off as soon as he saw that friend request?

People grow apart and move on. It's part of life and it's okay. Was it really that big of deal that you haven't spoken with the kid that used to eat glue since you left junior high? Had it kept you up nights knowing that the Latino kid who was in your class for one semester of your 4th grade year may have gotten married since then and you have never seen a picture of his kids?

Once again, I am not saying Facebook is bad, but the ease of being able to find people allows us to entertain unhealthy obsessions. Who hasn't looked up an old boyfriend/girlfriend just to see what they are up to? No friend request. Just a creepy look through their pictures and a few of their status updates. This is also done regularly with the kid that bullied you in school, that girl/boy who you never asked out but always wanted to, that nasty person you hated, your old boss, or the guy/girl you just met on Friday night. It has become commonplace, but is actually really creepy.

It is very useful for staying in closer contact with people you already communicate with. It is wonderful to be able to just crank out a quick message on your keyboard to someone and know that they will get the message within a few hours. I use it to communicate with church members, school officials, my daughter (that's sad), other bloggers and various other friends. I have no idea how many messages I send and receive in a single day, but Facebook is easily my main source of communication. If Facebook were to ever crash, millions of people would have to tweet to each other about the lack of Facebook access. Until it came back up, teenage girls all over the world would have no place to upload the pictures of themselves in their bathroom mirrors.

 

Despite our obvious dependency, it is very useful and I have no intention of giving it up. Many great causes have been brought to light by Facebook users. It is by far the easiest way to send out invitations for an event. Grandparents several states (or countries) away can see the latest pictures of the grandkids. People use Facebook to announce engagements, births, anniversaries and various other pieces of celebratory news. It is also useful for when the news isn't so cheerful. I have learned of funerals by reading my Wall. Many news stories have been brought to my attention because I saw it on Facebook. This is even how I learned that my neighbor's house had burned down. It happened while I was sleeping and I read it on Facebook before I stepped outside that morning.

However useful this immediate access to information may be, that does not mean that everything on Facebook is useful or even needs to be shared. Twenty years ago, if a woman was mad at her husband, she would call her mother or a girlfriend and gripe to them about was a no good, lazy bum he was. Today, they can crank out a quick status update to display his shortcomings to the world. I have seen this on countless occasions from both men and women.

Some people post the link to every music video they watch on Youtube. They post endlessly about every step their baby takes and when s/he poops. The people we like to avoid because they can't talk about anything besides their latest illness or medication they have been prescribed invade our walls with persistent posts about their doctor visit and the aches and pain they experienced when they last vomited.

Recent FACEBOOK thoughts:

I understand that Facebook may have therapeutic value in helping you to get things off your chest, but maybe, just maybe, the reason your kids are driving you nuts is because they are hungry and waiting for you to get off Facebook and fix dinner.  

Thank you for the picture of the cute thing your kitten did today. It is so much cuter than the 15 you posted yesterday.

Your dinner tonight is really good? I don't believe you. Oh, you posted a picture. Now I have no choice.  

I am so sorry that I thought you were about to commit suicide and sent the cops to your place. It's my fault for not being familiar with current music and realizing that you were just expressing yourself through song lyrics.

Girls, that duck lips face that you are making at the camera is NOT attractive. I don't know who told you that it was or why after seeing the picture you choose to post it anyway, but STOP IT.

I would love to comment or like your most recent update, but your lack of punctuation, capitalization and properly spelled words prevents me from being able to understand what you are trying to say. At the very least, use a period to show me where one sentence ends and the next begins.

ENGLISH: It's your native tongue. LEARN IT!!!

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I know I kind of got off on a tangent there, but those things had to be said. Facebook and other social media is great and has only begun to be used to it's potential. However, not all information needs to be put out there. The ease of use has caused many people to forget where the lines of decency are. A good portion of the next generation does not even have that filter. Every thought is fair game to be thrown out to the world. We are connected in marvelous ways that could not have been imagined just a few years ago, but it is possible to be too connected.

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This post was prompted by Tammy Soule when asked for topic suggestions. Topics found here.