Buncha Addicts

Alright, so I've been really lax about posting here on my blog. And that is mainly due to my obsession with Facebook. But I have to say, I have reconnected with so many people that I would never have caught up with in the real world. I think some people oppose FB because you aren't really communicating with a live person, just their computer. But, remember when email was new? Everyone thought that sending an email versus calling someone on the phone was absurd. Now, I usually get or send an email before I get or make a phone call. And if I don't hear back right away I think to myself, "Well, maybe their computer is down." I don't automatically think they're ignoring my caller ID and choosing not to talk to me. My self esteem remains intact.

But on FB, I can find out lots of information (even some I could have done without!) in one click. If I go to my Friends Live Feed I can see who is in work, who wants it to be Friday, whose child is driving them mad, etc. etc. Last week I put in a status update that said "Why do we punish our children when all we really do is punish ourselves?" and I got a ton of feedback from other parents commiserating. It made me feel better knowing I wasn't the only parent who felt that way. I know who's birthday it is today. I know who is home sick or has sick kids home from school. We support each other with things like school, kids, love, jobs, etc. Some people who have lost their jobs are putting it out there in case someone knows of a job opportunity. It really is a community, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoy it!

I have also "met" some people through FB. For instance, the granddaughter of my co-worker (and friend) has been battling a brain tumor since she was 10 months old. I've been following her health updates through her parents' blog for more than 3 years now, telling other people I know who are inclined to pray and asking them to pray for this family and special little girl. But with FB, I've been putting it on my status updates and TONS of people told me that they would pray for little Erin. Well, when I "friended" Erin's Mom on FB, she saw how many people were praying for Erin through my updates and was so grateful. Unfortunately, Erin lost her battle with the evil brain tumor last Saturday. But when I went through the receiving line at the wake - Erin's Mom hugged me saying "My Facebook friend!!!" We are linked, if only through Facebook, but that made an awkward situation much easier: if I wasn't on her friend list and she hadn't seen my picture and name every time she logged onto FB, then that meeting in the receiving line would have had me saying things like "Hi, I'm G, I work with your husband's Mom". Instead we hugged and knew that we were bonded in our prayers for little Erin.

A funny thing about FB, though, is that those people who refuse to participate feel like it's an evil empire or something. I guess I am just not that paranoid, and if there is anything in my life that I wouldn't want people to know about me, then I wouldn't put it out there. A few months ago, I went to a mini-reunion of some old friends. There were 6 of us, but only 5 of us had FB accounts (which is how we arranged the reunion!). By the end of the night, she was getting frustrated because every sentence or every story about someone started with "Oh, she/he is my friend on Facebook", or "I read about that on Facebook". She should have made a "drinking game" out of the word Facebook, because she said she'd have been falling-down-drunk if that was the case!!

I have connected with so many people from so many different aspects of my life. I even have a link to this blog on there, because someone might care enough to read about what I am up to these days.

Me: "Hello, my name is G, and I am addicted to Facebook."
All: "Hi, G!"

Have a great Thursday!

-G