A View Of Facebook

I was recently discussing with my mother the conveniences of our generation. I expressed to her how I couldn't imagine living in a world where I couldn't just get on the Internet and find information on almost anything. She told me she could, and in fact had. She lived in an age where they had to go to the library...and look in encyclopedias for information. To me that sounds ridiculous, but I think growing up in the age of computers, we often forget how lucky we are.

I think one of the greatest Internet commodities we have is Facebook. As addicting as it is, it is a great source to stay in touch with friends. I think it's the easiest way to spread information to all your friends through events, groups, notes, and statuses. I'm a full supporter of the Facebook epidemic. But then again, I feel as though things as Facebook are making our friendships less real. And of course I'm not only referring to Facebook, but also email, blogs (yes, blogs), and websites. My attention was drawn to this when speaking to a man from my church about his proselyting mission a year prior. He said how he would get tons of emails but what really meant the most was a letter in the mail. And how true is that? I know when I get letters in the mail I'm pretty excited, though I get a ton of emails everyday.

So I guess I basically want to make two points. First of all the difference of Facebook and reality. It seems to me that people are much more open on the Internet than they would ever be in actual life. Jonathan noticed, as did myself, the growing talk of religion amongst our friends on Facebook. I'm not saying I was not a part of it, in fact I may have been one of the forerunners, but it is getting huge. People who I didn't even know were religious are popping out their beliefs. I know I've been always very open about talking about religion, but people at school never really show much interest. So, it amazes me that when it's not coming out of their mouths, how quick they are to state something. Not that I think this is so much a bad thing, but it's Facebook, so pretty much everyone can see it. And I can understand why people would be offended. I think many of our friendships have change in a way they never would have, it there was no Facebook. Views and thoughts about people have changed by reading their profiles, their notes, and even their one sentence statuses.

My other point is about the tangibility of our friendships. I have a box of memories that I keep. I was looking through it and found that the majority of the box was from middle school. Notes, letters, pictures fill the box. And I wish I could have more stuff from high school, but these things have become obsolete. There is email now plus Facebook walls/messaging. There is digital cameras which allows you to organize all your picture on the computer. And there is text messaging which makes 'note passing' a lot easier during school. I feel like I barely have to talk to people anymore. With instant messaging and text messaging I don't even have to hear their voices, or see their faces. It feels like friendships aren't even real anymore. I don't communicate with a person; I communicate with a machine.

I think in this new high-tech age, we should be careful. I think we should still try to treasure our friendships. Every once in a while I think we should send a letter. Or perhaps give someone a hand-written note. I don't know about you guys, but I treasure this kind of stuff. We have two years. Let's make the most of it, by doing things that will really make our friendships last forever.

Yeah so since my post is so serious this week, I thought I might add something that made me laugh...a lot.

Hello to our multiple views from Canada. Pretty cool, eh?

-Brianna