I love you! I hate you! I can't live without you! I wish you'd go away forever!
Much like a tempestuous love affair, I have conflicted feelings about Facebook. I hate their business practices, but I love finding old friends and being able to keep up with the day-to-day of people I don't see often.
Yesterday I got a friend request from my cousin whom I haven't seen in over 10 years and I friended both she and her mom, my 88 year old aunt. Without Facebook, I wouldn't be able to easily re-attach these family ties; too much time and distance stand in the way. But I was thrilled to find them and to see photos of my niece who has somehow become an adult while I wasn't watching. This makes me feel good, and is worth the trade-off of my possible loss of privacy.
This morning I saw this piece of research that confirms that Facebook users have a richer social life than non-users. It confirms my experience, which is always affirming, and counters the objection that I hear from my boomer contemporaries -- who needs it? Feh! Not worth the time and trouble to get involved. But wait -- now we have scientific proof that there are health benefits of having friends.
So, for better or for worse, I've committed myself
No comments:
Post a Comment