I'm Kind of Shocked...

I'm kind of shocked at myself, at my friends, and at our American society. Why have we allowed Facebook to run our lives?

Does anyone remember the days when you had to go knock on your friends door to ask if they wanted to ride your bikes? No? Ok, well how about this? Does anyone remember when you had to pick up the phone and call your friend to ask if you wanted to go to a movie? No? Ok, well how about this? Does anyone remember when you had to pick up your phone and type in some letters to text your friend if they wanted to meet up at the bar? Now, we just have a generation of people that see nothing wrong with communicating solely through a screen and a keyboard and that makes me really sad.

We are making people think that it's ok to be passive aggressive. Facebook doesn't let you act any other way. If I have a problem with someone, I can just write their name and let everyone know just how much I hate them. I can make up lies about people (and yes, this has personally happened to me) and put them on a website for everyone to see. I don't have to call my family anymore to check up on them, I can just go look at their profile and see if they have signed in within the past few days. I am shocked that this has become an acceptable way to live.

Actually, I'm not shocked because it was bound to happen. I am just sad. I am so sad that kids will never experience life without music playing in their ears or a DS in their hands (that's a handheld video game for all you old folks out there). I am sad that there is a generation of people (and sadly it does include my own) who consider their Facebook friends their actual friends.

So, as part of my mission to simplify my life, I have simplified my Facebook. If you don't have the decency to speak to me in person when I come across you on the street, or if I haven't seen you since grammar school, you will not be my Facebook friend. There was a time when Facebook didn't exist, and once people left your life, that is where they stayed unless you made an effort to keep them there.

Facebook will now be used for school contacts, professional contacts, family, and people that I see on a regular basis because there is no need for anyone else to know anything about my life. This all came about when my boyfriend and I started debating whether someone would get angry at me from deleting them from my Facebook page. Now, this person hates me and doesn't speak to me at all in the real world. So why have them be my "friend"? So they can stalk me...no thanks! I will no longer stalk or be stalked.

Let's talk face to face about our problems. And let's talk face to face about how much we love each other. It really will make a difference.

Ok....I'm done.