Feb 14 2009
facebook and it’s 25 things
If you are on facebook, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The rules are simple. Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged and you have to tag the person who first tagged you.
So all of a sudden I’m learning 25 things about many, many people. Some people I know well, others not so much. And let’s just say it has been interesting. In some cases for folks I don’t know too well, it almost felt like I had learnt too much about that person, or at least more than I really needed to know. On the other hand for friends who are closer, it often gave me a deeper insight into their lives and sometimes a understanding of why certain things happened.
Yet the bigger story here is more the attitude we’ve taken to social networks such as facebook. Ask your parents and they’ll say it’s crazy that one would want to share so much information about themselves, often with people they don’t even really know. Even before facebook, there were blogs and already, many were asking why anyone would want to read about “your” life when they don’t even know you.
We live in a very different world from our parents (or anyone who is now above 50 for that matter). The way we interact with each other has changed drastically. Think about it for a second. How many of us make it a point to catch up with friends “face to face” on a regular basis? And why not? Well, because it seems like we are already constantly in touch with them. For example, you can see their status updates on facebook, then there are those brief moments of conversation via MSN chat and then there is of course email which would now seem like the snail mail of the cyberworld. So why then would you ever need to see someone face to face? Just to hold hand? And yes, I believe that wanting to hold your girlfriend of boyfriend’s hand is a good reason to meet up. But seriously with such connectivity, are we then less connected on a personal level?
If you’ve read enough of my posts, you’ll realize that I have a thing about relationships. To me they are very important because our lives are made up in a large part by the people around us. It is this interaction on a daily basis that really shapes much of our life and in turn we do the same for them too. So even though you’re “in touch” with your friends online, do you really know how they are feeling? Can you truly say you “were there” for your friend when they were in need? For instance, can you recall the last time you just sat together with a close friend knowing full well that they were feeling sad and that just being there was the support they were looking for? Or those times when you just wanted a big hug from someone because no words could explain what you were feeling. How can a real hug be the same as a poke on facebook? The way I see it, these are the special moments in life that no amount of connectivity in the world can give us.
Be that as it may, I’m still like everyone else, I still can’t leave home without my mobile phone and I still check my email everyday. Yes, I still like being connected but I also make it a point to hug my kid at least once a day. That hug is electrifying and gives me a new lease of life to make it through another day.
