I never thought I'd be writing a blog about how technology drains us but here goes.
Facebook has consumed the lives of many across the globe. It is amazing how addictive it is. I have well over 150 "Friends" on Facebook. What does this mean? Absolutely nothing! Adding someone on facebook as a friend does not mean much. In fact, there are times when I wonder what purpose Facebook serves. For example, I have added people I do not even remember much less care to remember - from elementary school to college, sometimes I think to myself, who is this person and why did I add them? Were we close? Probably not, otherwise I'd remember them.
Then, there are those I wanted to find for years and was excited that they either found me on facebook or I found them and we are back in touch. I got back in touch with many friends that had lost touch over the years all because of technology like facebook. So... there is that! Then, again, do I need to know what someone is doing at every minute of any given day? Nah - I was better off without it. For example, "Jane Doe is now boarding a plane" - so frigging what? And... Jane Doe is someone I went to middle school with- so, do I really care that she is boarding a plane right now? Nope. But that is the trade off with technology. While it provides great tools to reconnect with family and friends across the globe, it comes with the unfortunate result that sometimes I gotta see status updates I could care less about.
As I am about to expect my second child, I have decided to be even more obnoxious than these other people. Do I care that "John Doe is eating breakfast on a Sunday morning"? Nope. So, now John Doe is going to see how far apart my contractions are too... maybe as I deliver the placenta, I will put that on my status update. How is that for gross? I mean, seriously- was technology really meant to have people read about my every move? I do not think so and it is an unintended by-product of an otherwise useful technological tool.
If you have friends in real-life, great- go out, have fun with them, maybe grab a coffee and lunch with them. A friend on facebook? Keep in touch, send messages (writing on the wall is getting too overused and abused), and use the tools you have to stay in touch with those you want to be "Friends" with. The rest.... defriend them- it is not too late to save yourself and your sanity. Got friend? Well, let's see, out of 151 of them, I would say... about 50 of them are my friends.
