Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Not According to Plan

I haven't posted anything in a while, not because there is nothing to talk about, but more because there is just too much. Hopefully I will be able to tell you all about the past month soon.

But I had something I wanted to talk about. In the past 16 hours I have had two people tell me that they won't use Facebook because they prefer "Real" or "Tangible" relationships. I disagree. I don't feel like Facebook promotes fake or intangible relationships, in fact it has helped me reconnect with friends who I probably would have never seen or heard from again- and it has helped me get to know family members, Sisters, Cousins, Brother's in Law, much better than I ever have before. Now I have some guesses as to why these people find No Joy in Facebook- for one of them, they simply have never tried it- preferring to make a judgement based upon other peoples experiences maybe. For the other, I am assuming that the world did not laugh at every joke that was made and maybe someone didn't respond quickly enough to their friend request....who knows.

For me, I enjoy the daily life experiences that are shared. I also enjoy the fact that I can hide certain friends addictions to applications (I am glad that you have a virtual zoo and that your zoo makes you happy, but no, I really don't care to hear about your new panda- same for your virtual aquarium). I have a cousin who at times is Hilarious and at other times she can be as foul mouthed as a drunken sailor, I haven't hidden her but I have learned that if you give her a day or two she is back to her old self and you can read her updates with out fear of having to wash your brain out with soap.

I enjoy being able to vent frustrations or triumphs and have people understand and give advice or even just a "like" or "dislike" in real time, like my friends are right here with me. Maybe it is a Mother thing, when you spend all day with people who don't speak your language it is nice to know that there are people who understand- just a few key strokes away.

I also like being able to pose questions- I really like the fact that my friends are not afraid to oppose each other, even when the question is Political. I love that about my friends, they are real, they have real feelings and real thoughts and they are not afraid to share them.

Maybe I am just lucky. Maybe I have the right mix of friends to make something like Facebook worthwhile for me. I will take that luck and be happy that it is mine.
(Those are my thoughts, it was nice to share them using more than 240 characters.)

2 comments:

Angie said...

I think FB has its place. I have found lost friends through it and it is lovely to disseminate large group news--like Baby CJ's arrival into the world and my grandma's cardiologist appt results. But, it can be dangerous because I have watched people I know get lost in the apps and neglect their families. I have heard of others think they really know the high school boyfriend they reconnected with and that this boyfriend just gets them so much better than their husband that they ditch the husband for the FB "connection" to the past. I think like all technology tools it is neither good or evil; you can use it how you will. Maybe the people you know who have quite are not liking how they themselves are responding to this tool and they feel impressed to take it more old school.

Nathan and Sarah said...

I totally agree with you! Facebook has been a godd experience for me and I am glad I am able to connect with people I haven't seen in a long time!