Sell out vs. surrender: When good people join Facebook

I'm not going to judge how people waste their time. God knows I do stupid things to waste time.
-J___

A few days ago I joined Facebook. It was not premeditated. Suddenly it just dawned on me—"I'll join Facebook." So I did. I watched the alarming process of my gmail contacts automatically populating my friend list. And then I began the even more alarming process of 1-seeing people on my gmail contact list to make me wonder aloud "When the hell did I email them? and 2-realizing that just about the whole world is on Facebook (save my Laissez-faire, libertarian love and quote source).

Within hours, I had alerts in my inbox about how so-and-so wants to "friend me" and so-and-so has "written on my wall"—messages roughly akin to "Whoa, what are YOU doing on here? I thought you hated this?"

I never HATED Facebook, per se. If you don't know anything about me, know that I am an over-reactor (Irish and Italian blood are a volatile mix). I *hate* the metro, but even that doesn't stop me from taking it to work every day. The alternative is to rot in parking lot traffic and bitch about how much I spend on gas to not move for 3 hours Every. Single. Day.

I really put no thought into joining The Book, which seems to be the driving force behind it. You see a name you recognize from 10th grade English and you become their cyber friend, complete with access to their pictures, hobbies, life interests, and relationship stats. It's v. easy, completely impersonal, and a huge time-suck. A perfect activity for a sleepless night. I've been known to do dumber things on sleepless nights, my favorite being the time I consumed a can of Beef-a-roni and passed out watching Roseanne reruns circa 4 am. By joining Facebook this week, in essence I saved myself from another night of Chef Boyardee and working class humor.

But it can be fun, in the same vein that waking up to white noise and an empty can of slop can be a somewhat amusing reminder of just how ridiculous I can be ("I did WHAT?!"). Without Facebook, it would be wholly impossible to accuse two friends (in one night!) of owning slaves in a quasi-public arena. I even had the immense satisfaction of reminiscing (via a wall post of my own) of a time in Sicily several years back when I drunkenly asserted to an Italian family that I could twirl around a pole ten times and not fall flat on face, only to be rewarded, moments later, with being "tagged" in an actual picture of this v. activity! (I did fall flat on my face). The world is my Facebook oyster.

But I reserve my real world, and my real loves, for real, non Facebook life.

Comments

Unknown said…
mmmm beef a roni and roseanne... sounds like a quality night to me. I LOVE that show!
August 18, 2008 at 8:29 AM
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