Connecting from Facebook?

When is comes to social networking, I am a late bloomer. I resisted Facebook until 2008, I never understood MySpace and I found Friendster, which I did join, to be lame. This partnered with the fact that I had not had internet at home for over a year and long work hours, I am just now understanding what I hear people refer to as a Facebook addiction. True, I was an passionate poster but now the brand new world of Chat is available to me.

For a long time, I firmly believed electronic communication was not a real interaction and best used for exchange of information. I never understood people who made internet friends. Facebook and MySpace were tools used by Annie, the 22-year-old marketing assistant. But Facebook Chat and my newly created blog have me questioning my long held beliefs.

Most notably I have been chatting with people that I have not seen in over 15 years. People I went to High School with, friends from church youth group. Most of whom, if we bumped into each other we would most likely say an awkward hello and maybe, BIG MAYBE, casually chat for a minute of two and go onto to talk to those people whom we have remained close with through the years. Moreover, with some of these people I am finding out more about them than I knew when I “knew” them. And they know more about me than they may have ever wanted to. Is it safer to be vulnerable with someone from the comfort of you home when the person you are chatting with is thousands of miles away? And if that is the case what is the impact of face-to-face relationships? I am not sure it is a good thing. However, I am not sure it is a bad thing.

Facebook connects me with people whom I otherwise would have no contact such as my Sixth Grade teacher, my Sunday school teacher, my former babysitter and neighbor. And by connect I do not mean a friend request was accepted and that was that. Messages are exchanged and information given. And in relating with them I learn more about them and remember long forgotten quips from my past. I discover them and me.

Likewise, in my blog I openly reveal delicate and private details of my life. Most likely would not expose myself otherwise. (Because I have ADD and would forget or doing so might cause a panic attack) Rightly or wrongly, it works for me to share myself in written communication.

Human Beings crave being interconnected. Facebook and AD/OC allow me to deeply connect with more people. I think these are good adjuncts to real human contact as it allows me to, possibly, impact more people. If you are telling me things on Facebook Chat that you would never tell you loved ones you might have a problem. If you are sharing yourself to be related to me, that works.

Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Either way it is what is so…