I barely remember a time before the internet. And facebook, though certainly a rather young invention, certainly has swallowed us whole. I'll be the first to admit, I'm addicted. There's something empowering about creating a visual representation of yourself that screams, "This is me! Aren't I great? Don't you want to know me? If you already know me, aren't you glad you know me? Aren't I original!"
And it's certainly convenient and helpful for keeping up with people. The only problem is, I feel this incredible pressure to keep up with EVERYONE! Suddenly, there's no excuse, no natural breaks, no ebb and flow of relationship. We can get in contact with virtually anyone from any period of our lives. And while this opportunity seems appealing - who likes to say goodbye, after all - it comes at a high cost. It's the age old quality v. quantity tension. If I am constantly stalking, messaging, sending bumper stickers, etc to a hundred people, I will never have the time to regularly meet a few friends for coffee and actually know what's going on in their lives. Anyway, I'm definitely not anti-facebook, but I'm just wondering what we're learning about life and relationships these days and facebook seems to be teaching us a lot. For an interesting read about facebook and its role in the discourse of our day, check out this article:
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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2 comments:
Hey,
I randomly found your blog when I was looking at Ande's. I just have to comment on this post because it's so true! Facebook has taken over our lives and I too often wonder if we are missing a sense of authenticity in relationships because of it. Of course, that coming from me, a person who is probably among the very heavily addicted of the addicted to facebook...
Yay I found your blog and now I can stalk you as well! Just another way to add to the virtual world :)
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