The Mythical World of Facebook Friends and Family

Ah social networking sites, a good or bad thing?  Really it can go both ways, depending on how you use it.   Using it to keep in touch with family that is far away, or friends you use to go to school with but lost touch, even work buddies, nothing wrong with that.   It also can be a great place to kick back, pay a game or two, or just escape from reality to plow a farm for a period of time.    On the social networking site Face book,   a person can post statuses, or links of things they like, poke a friend, or post on their wall.  It really should all be in good fun.  Seeing pictures from long ago or even recent ones, another way to display those Vacation photos or brag about children.  Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy going on Facebook,  I like to look at photos, play scrabble and a couple other games;  but in actuality   Facebook is like an over grown high school . . . some days, junior high.

I have heard stories of people breaking up over facebook, or killing themselves, or even cyber-bullying, and it makes me wonder really what is this world coming too?  And then there is those people who have the 250 plus friends,  I know some people are out going and I know some people   who are older may  have added everyone they have met in  their life time, but come on really.  Can a person keep in touch with those people?   And forget just the 250 . . . I know people with well over 500.   Do you really know all of those people, really how many have you met?

Me, I have 126 people on my list as of this morning, 10 I have not met.  One yes is for games, two are family members I have not met, but talk to through PMs.  A couple are friends of my best friends, was put on for games but find their statuses interesting and such.  So out of my whole list, I know about 87% of the people.    I wont lie, a few of them are only on my list because they are family and even a few are on my list because they are “friends” (another paragraph, will continue with that thought).

 Now facebook is one of those things that you can’t make everyone happy, changed settings, change appearance.   People post rants and articles that they want to share nothing wrong with that.  Have relationship fights and post stuff up that really should be kept quiet.  Now really when did facebook start to rule our lives?  

I remember when I first joined facebook, and how I said I wouldn’t hang out there a lot, now I find myself on it way to much, it’s even on my PHONE!  I say enough, I am challenging myself to taking some time off of it.  I will take a couple of days to finish up a few games of scrabble with  some people,  and sent out a message or two to people who I talk to but only on facebook, giving them other means of getting a hold  of me,  but I am going to challenge myself for  a week of no facebook.  I am sure its not going to be easy but  it is not the way I want to live.

Now in the same regards to facebook,   there are people on my list that really I would love to remove,  either have nothing to do with or just  tired of the garbage they post.  Yes I could just block the stuff, but these people have made it very clear where there I stand with them.  One not even important enough to go to my grad or my birthday party ( a new GF got in the way).  The other   wasn’t even a friend enough to support me when a family member died.  With the claim of, I was too depressing (hello uncle died) and she was doing one of those FML   things (repetitively with claims she was homeless etc (she wasn’t but things have to look worse to gain attention)).   And then after she had already told me she was going to drive me to the funeral, she never showed.  She never called, good thing I drive and can take myself.    I wasn’t supposed to know this; a friend slipped up and told me.  There are even a few family members I would like to remove but I don’t want to rock the boat so to speak, I do not want to cause issue and such.  Issues because friends are suppose to except each other’s faults but how much abuse does a person need to take?

On a separate note regarding the thank you post; Sunday    I was shocked, going into Wal-Mart, I got thank you(s) everywhere . . . and it was Wal-Mart.  Going into a few other stores again thank you(s); but once the week started it has all gone down hill from there . . .   brings to mind the idea  is saying “Thank you”  too difficult to do,  or are we just to stuck up to be polite ?