Absolutely fabulous article!!

Actually of all of the annoying things that you have mentioned the narcissists have to be the worst!!!! I really don’t care what they are doing every minute of the day!!

As for the constant "friend suggestions" I just ignore them! Facebook has been a wonderful vehicle to reconnect with "some", others are meant to be left in the past……..now I am faced with "to friend or unfriend, THAT is the question!!"

What is really ‘odd’ to me about FB is my kids’ friends have friended the moms they find.  When I got the first couple of requests…I thought…no…but then they extended the overture to me (trying to build up lists—and would they be like ‘your mom dissed me’?) so I said yes…but I still hate sifting thru the ‘at the football game, txt me’ posts…yet…sometimes you find a kernal (or two) of what is doing on with their (my kids) circle of friends.

That the friend-count aspect of Facebook and Twitter doesn’t point out the shallow, maipulative ego driven underbelly of these sites is disappointing.   

The only reason I’m on Facebook is that a former student contacted me from Afghanistan, and I was so pleased to know what was happening in her life; and then, there was a deluge of former students which also pleased me, for retired many years, I have kept in contact with former students who live in NY where I reside. But, then strangers with no previous connection to me began asking me to be their friend. All those degrees of separation impressed them, but not me.

I’m old enough to be their grandmother, and my idea of friendship is so different. I have always cherished my friends and those I’ve lost contact with I have sought on the Internet, because so many were dispersed all over the world, but I can barely appreciate knowing  what anyone does from morning to night. All those mundane activities, for me, are private; I’m not even a person who uses the telephone to convey these matters to my children, grandchilren, or nearby friends. Facebook’s take on friendshp may be au courant, but it is false to me.

 It also illustrates how disconnected everyone is, and certainly not selective; counting numbers of how many friends have been accumulated is absurd. 

But, I must say, receiving many, many birthday wishes for my 80th from those on Facebook who knew me as a young teacher was thrilling, and because my last name is unusual (only my daughter & I use it in the US) being discovered by a former acquaintance does enrich my life.

I was reluctant to join FB when my niece first brought it up. Then, everywhere I went I was asked the question, "Are you on Facebook?" I began to realize that more and more people my age were on there. So I joined.

Unlike most of the above posts, I like it. I have contacted people I went to school with, friends that I had lost contact with, and family that lives far away. I have found it an easy way to share pictures and information that I wouldn’t have normally shared because I didn’t have time to call everybody.

You don’t have to be friends with anybody you wish not to. Yes, I have had people deny my friend request, it didn’t bother me. If they don’t want to be my friend, then I don’t want to be theirs either.

I am also on Twitter. I use FB to keep up with friends and family. I use Twitter to keep up with Celebs that I admire.

I can see how this new trend isn’t for everybody, but I think it is the way of the future, and I enjoy keeping up with new technology and trends. I would like to think that when I’m in a nursing home, I will have a laptop (or whatever will take the place of one) and will be able to talk to people without them having to take time out of their busy lives to come visit me.

FB is nice for those of us who live on the other side of the country from nearly everyone they know, I just don’t think I take it as seriously as some others do. 

I don’t have a multitude of "friends" on FB, but I have reconnected with several old friends and family members via the site and I log on every couple of days just to catch up.  I don’t write much on my page, I just scan the page for updates once in awhile.  If I don’t want to "friend" someone, I don’t (it’s only happened a couple of times - people I barely knew).  I don’t do any of the apps and games.  When people send me hugs, flowers, or martinis, I just smile and delete them.  They know by now that I don’t take the time to do that type of thing, but it’s fine that they do - to each his own. 

Because of FB, I’m more connected to friends and family members than I’ve been in years and all  I do is log on once in awhile and respond to a photo or comment on their recent trip.  I used to laugh at people who did FB until I went on it and understood it.  Now, it’s certainly worth its weight.

Of course, the question of, ‘is FB too pushy’ is another matter - Friend X told me that FB suggested that she write on Friend Z’s wall, afterall it had been awhile… Friend Z had passed away, Friend X didn’t appreciate the reminder.