Facebook becomes a guilty pleasure and way to connect
I can’ t think of anything I make fun of so much as Facebook,
yet still am so devoted to. In a sort of sneaking, guilty-pleasure
kind of way.
When I signed up for it about a year ago, my first thought was:
Gee, this is pretty useless, but I guess it will be okay for
keeping in touch with some old friends.
Facebook becomes a guilty pleasure and way to connect
I can’ t think of anything I make fun of so much as Facebook, yet still am so devoted to. In a sort of sneaking, guilty-pleasure kind of way.
When I signed up for it about a year ago, my first thought was: Gee, this is pretty useless, but I guess it will be okay for keeping in touch with some old friends.
Now, in 2010, I have softened my stand somewhat. It’s not totally without merit, yet most of it is pretty silly. Yet I do spend an embarrassingly significant amount of time on it.
This week, the craziest news about Facebook is that you can now ” friend” Queen Elizabeth II of England, and just one day after this announcement, she had 60,000 Facebook friends. I guess I am less surprised by that than by the fact that the Queen actually knows what Facebook is, or what a computer is, for that matter.
Almost as crazy is that you can now “friend” my mother, a hesitant and reluctant computer user, and who earlier this year swore up and down that she would not get involved with Facebook. But there she is, mainly because she wants to see pictures of her grandchildren.
Facebook has become yet another widget you can’t live without, and that’ s because it taps into a basic human need to be nosy. We all want to know each other’s business whether we admit it or not, even if it’ s someone we haven’t seen since junior high school. I readily admit to going on Facebook several times a day, just to see what’s new with everyone. And I am not alone – there are more than 116 million Americans using Facebook these days.
A recent Nielsen survey found that people spent an average of seven hours a month on Facebook. I know a number of people who spend much, much more time than that. Anyone who’s into these Facebook games, like Farmville or Mafia Wars, fritter away a heck of a lot more than seven hours a month.
So why do I waste time on Facebook? I don’t care so much about things like relationship status or people’s jobs, but I do like to know what my friends are up to and what they’re feeling. If they’re sad or distressed, I can send them a cheery little message.
If they’re celebrating something, I can send congratulations.
Facebook gives me the chance to stay connected, something that is even more vital for me as a writer working alone at home much of the time. I figure going on Facebook is my equivalent of going into the office and hanging around the water cooler.
The other thing I like is that I now have instant access to thousands of photos that my friends have posted, be it of their children, dogs, cats, plants or latest rowdy grape-stomping or what have you.
It’s also reassuring to look at my Facebook friends list (more than 200 now! Who knew I had so many!) although I have to admit that there’s probably about 10 or 20 whom I only vaguely remember from my past.
What I find really strange about Facebook, though, are these people who want to be your friend who don’ t even know you. I have several stacked up in my inbox right now – a guy from Italy, a woman from Japan, and a guy who says he went to high school with me, although I can’ t find him in the yearbook.
I don’ t quite get why people want to be your friend randomly, but you have to chalk it up to Internet strangeness.
Recently I acquired a very special Facebook pal: my older son Ross, who had previously told me I couldn’t be his friend. Now he has relented. And that’s another thing on Facebook that makes me happy.
