Life in the FB era...

Okay. I am compelled to make a confession. I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I've been a member for over two years and there have been periods of time when I go several weeks without signing-in to read posts or play games. Likewise, there are times when I keep the page open in my tabs for days on end, checking and re-checking to see what comments were posted in the past hour.

I say "love-hate relationship" because there are things I really love about FB and things I really hate.

My hate list includes having to scroll through all of the postings from friends who are moving up levels in different games or requesting game assistance (sorry - I know I was once guilty of this myself and while I still play two online games via FB, I now manage to click 'skip' when the prompt suggests that I 'tell friends' about my lame achievement). Other things on FB I dislike include:

• all of the invitations to different causes (events aren't as objectionable but it's too difficult to keep up with everyone's different cause or affiliation)
• all of the automated friend suggestions that come from FB based on friends of my friends - most of whom I either don't know or don't remember
• the constant updates and changes that occur on FB, especially when it comes to privacy implementation
• fear about virus risk from applications that are options via FB but aren't directly affiliated with FB - this includes all of the kisses, hugs, angels, etc., which are nice/thoughtful but my geek gurus inform me that these endanger your hard drive of becoming virus infected (I now do not open them but do appreciate their intended sentiment)
• flaming comments posted by friends and relatives whose philosophies or political views oppose my own, or in some cases, nearly insight me to riot (that's probably top of my list but in recent months I have decided that it really is okay to delete or hide them so I don't have to get the hairs on the back of my neck ruffled. I think this action helps to save relationships.)

What I primarily love about FB is how it has helped me to reconnect with old friends whom I haven't heard from in decades. Some of you reading this might be of the opinion that if you haven't heard from someone in many years then why bother? What could you possibly be missing? That's actually a good case statement and for those who feel this way, I'm not going to argue with you. It's a personal choice, truly. For me, however, it has been a major blessing, even connecting with some old friends whom I might not have been close to in the good old days has been exhilarating for me because it has provided me insight into who I was in my youth and who I have become today. While each of us can claim uniqueness on many levels, we are still the product of many influences during our childhood.  I am a better person today because of the people I knew and friends I had in my past. Thankfully, like most of my old friends, I've matured beyond my high school and college years. Heck - I think it's safe to say that I've matured beyond the person I was even just last year. Maybe it's a natural evolutionary process, genetic encoding, something learned through trial and error or just plain luck. It doesn't really matter. Change is imminent. And, as the Borg say, "Resistance is futile." Sometimes (especially when it involves aging) it's much harder to stop the process than it is to just go with the flow. (Did I really just use the words "mature" and "Borg" in the same paragraph? Whatwhoa!)

Family connections...2007

Reconnecting with old friends and staying connected with family across distances makes putting up with all the other FB frustrations worth the effort. It's also a great way to get information out to a lot of folks all at the same time when you need to convey something quickly. Through reading posted comments I've also been able to witness personal growth among some close friends and family members that I find noteworthy. There is something personally empowering about being able to communicate as easily with others as we can on FB. I particularly like that if/when I post a comment and have second thoughts later, I can click the 'remove' button and all traces are instantly deleted as though they never happened.Wouldn't it be nice if our tongues had a delete button?

In the realm of "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride," delete buttons for everyday faux pas sure would make that ride more comfortable.

So, how about you? What do you hate or love about FB? Have you ever deleted or hidden a 'friend' whose posts drove you nuts - or deleted something you posted after having second thoughts? Inquiring minds want to know.  :-)