Last week my column was basically a lecture about a girl who sent more than 14,000 text messages in one month and her father who bragged about it to a newspaper. To show I’m not completely opposed to such technology, I joined Facebook this week.
Facebook is a social networking Web site that allows people to display information about themselves, but for the most part only people the user wants to see that information are allowed to do so by becoming that person’s “Friend.” I say “most part” because anybody in the user’s region has access to the information, which means anybody in the Wausau region can access information on my Facebook page.
The information on my Facebook page includes my e-mail address, phone number, personal stuff like my marriage status and family info, career stuff like where I work now and in the past, and links to all of my Facebook friends. I control this information, so anything I don’t want on it won’t be available to others.
I was reluctant to join the Facebook revolution that has been sweeping the nation for the past year, because it seemed pretty useless. Most of my friends still reminisce about the days of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and some of them go back to Atari, so the odds they would be connected to Facebook seemed pretty slim.
Until I checked it out. When I typed in the name of a long lost friend and I saw he had a page, I knew I had to join. I haven’t spoken to him in 12 years and chances are I would never have again, as he’s now living in California. But through Facebook, I can.
Joining Facebook was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. I entered an e-mail address, came up with a password, and simply answered a few questions about myself. With an account I can search for other people I know that might have accounts, view their friends and request they become my friend.
Unlike other social networking sites like myspace, it’s quick and easy to use, and the features are endless.
A friend from Milwaukee whom I haven’t spoken with in four years asked me to join Facebook’s “Mob Wars ” game. A cross between “The Godfather” and “Grand Theft Auto,” the game is a way people can interact with each other while having some fun. I see Facebook has a ton of other such games, and exploring all of them might be something I could do on a day I have absolutely nothing to do.
I’ve been able to reconnect with three lost friends since joining Facebook. I have plenty of other lost friends that don’t have Facebook pages, so I’m hoping the revolution keeps spreading.
I can imagine a world in which everybody is on Facebook. It would be one in which where we live doesn’t necessarily dictate who our friends are, one in which close friends could live across the globe and still remain close, and one in which physically seeing, touching or hearing someone isn’t necessary for a good friendship.
It’s not a world most people had access to before Facebook. Letter writing is way too slow, although the joy of receiving letters will surely be missed. Simply phoning a long-distant friend is too expensive. E-mailing people is effective; however, obtaining e-mail addresses of people, especially lost friends, is nearly impossible. Facebook makes it easy.
My biggest hope, through Facebook, is that I no longer have any lost friends. Plus, reconnecting with some of these people who live in other states may lead to cheap vacations. I’ll take that.
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