OK... so I have now heard it from almost every member of my family. I have an addiction to Facebook....
I'm not ready yet to say that it is a bad addiction... Ok... so maybe when I get caught up in playing Farmville or Bejeweled Bitz and ignore the housework--that's not a good thing. I still haven't figured out why I like Farmville, so maybe it is an addiction and not a good one... But, aside from the applications, here is my defense....
Facebook has helped me to "integrate" my life. I have lived many places, NJ, Georgia, Ohio, NC and now Alabama (11 cities in all). Facebook has reconnected me to all of those places and times in my life. There is no one in my life (aside from God, of course) who has been with me in all those places and known all those people. There is no one here in Alabama who knows about my life as a child in New Jersey and to many here, NJ is like a foreign country! But, through Facebook, I have found my best friend from 6th Grade! I found friends from those odd Jr. High years in Georgia. And so wonderfully satisfying it has been to reconnect with kids that were in my first church and now are all grown up!
I have reconnected with friends who were very important to me at various stages in my life and actually had an impact on who I am today. I had lost touch with many of these folks. In some ways, it was as if they were still whatever age they had been when I last talked with them-frozen in time..... but with Facebook, I am able to see what they have made of their lives.
So, maybe this all seems so "in the past" -- but one of my strengths is "context" (for those of you that understand that).... I like to put everything in context--by understanding the past, I can understand the present and how I got here...
but what about the "now" of Facebook...
here it is:
for me, it's keeping up with all the happenings in TOO many people's lives... it is a window into what is going on in people's lives.. I really do read the newsfeed--I go and look at people's profiles when I have thought about them and wonder what is happening in their life. I look at their pictures and rejoice in their family celebrations! I would never have time to call all these people and chat or write letters or emails! But through Facebook, I keep in touch with their daily lives!
Most importantly it keeps me in touch with those who are most dear to me, but very far away. I know more about my brother's family and see more of my niece. Since they have joined facebook in the last few months, I know more about happenings in their lives than what I had known in the last three years that they have been in France!
It helps me build and strengthen relationships with people who, like me, are introverts. I have several people in my life that I see regularly--not every day, but maybe every few weeks.. But, in those encounters, I don't always see or hear what's going on in their daily lives. Facebook allows that sharing to take place...
Also, it has strengthened my relationships with colleagues. People that I know "vaguely" through work have become REAL people to me... not just a name on an appointment list. They are people who post articles and links, that express opinions and I have come to know them more fully because of Facebook.
So, perhaps I spend more hours than I should on Facebook. Perhaps it is not the best if I neglect the people who are in the room with me in order to chat, message or read about other people. But, Facebook has become one way for me to connect my life to others in fun ways, but also it has helped me to deepen my relationships with those who are close to me, but far away. It's a mixed bag--just like all of life!
