Facebook Junkie

I'm addicted. It has become an everyday habit. I find myself automatically doing it even when I don't mean to!

Dammit, Facebook. How could I have become so dependent on you?

I knew (and had been told) that I Facebook far too often. At work, people now call me "Face Cracker".

I thoroughly enjoy "Face Crackin'". Isn't it better that I'm "Face Crackin" instead of real cracking???

....I'm pathetic.

I was listening to The Dean Blundell show this morning on my way to work (*note: I don't usually listen to his show because I don't normally work mornings. I just happen to be working the morning shift today and I decided to tune in. I sometimes find his topics and word choices offensive and rude but at times I think he is funny - you know, when he isn't talking about degrading women).

Anyways, back to the show. He, along with Todd and Jason, happened to be talking about Facebook. I guess Todd and Jay are users (ha ha) and Dean was informing them about his thoughts on Facebook (and social networking in general) and why he hates it so much.

Dean thinks that Facebook and other social networking sites have allowed us to become "social peeping toms" and "social snobs". He furthered his point by putting it in a situational context: say you are hanging out with your friends and they mention a guy or girl that they know that they might want to set you up with. Instead of meeting this person and judging their personality, looks, attributes yourself - you sign into your Facebook account (or "google" their name which often supplies you with the link to their Facebook page) and look through their pictures and decide whether or not this person is good enough/attractive enough for you to meet and possibly date based on what you see/find. In this sense, we use something as mundane as Facebook and judge whether or not we will be compatible with someone based on their online profile.

In terms of the "peeping tom" reference: it has now become socially acceptable to spy on people via internet. We use Facebook to see what people are doing with their lives, who they're dating, how drunk they got last night, and the works. And we, ourselves, provide this kind of information for everyone to know and see!

Dean noted that what has become acceptable in the online world would be completely ridiculous, and possibly illegal, in real life: "That would be like someone ringing your doorbell and when you answer it, they poke you in the chest and say "Want to be friends? Accept or decline now!! That person would get punched in the face" and compared the lack of privacy of Facebook to someone "seeing what you've been up to lately" by peering through your living room window at night.

And you know? It's true!! And it's funny because it's true! Why do we do this to ourselves?

Yes, Facebook is a good way to stay in touch with friends who you don't get to see too often or that don't live near you (that is a big reason why I use it). It's a great place to advertise and gain support for different causes or events. And I'm sure there's a list of other pros about Facebook that I just can't think of at the moment. And, frig, I'll admit it - it fills my time! It provides me with entertainment when I am bored.

However, Dean is right. Facebook and other online networking sites have replaced human contact and communication! Instead of calling up a friend and seeing how he/she has been, we comment on their status or profile picture. Impersonal communication masks itself as intimate and personal.

Jessica Valenti, in a post on her website titled "What is feminism worth?" (in which she argues in support of activists getting paid), said: "I just had someone send me a nasty Facebook message, for example, when I suggested they “friend” me at a public fan page rather than my personal account". We are expected to be accessible to anyone and everyone - even people we don't know. I can't tell you how many friend requests I've received from people (mostly guys) that I have never met before! They happened to see my profile picture (not my entire profile because I have really high privacy settings) through a mutual friends' page. So not only are these people wanting to "befriend" me based on my picture, but they are coming across as creepy cyber stalkers! When did this become okay? When did this become "normal"?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying forums such as blogs and chat groups aren't important and beneficiary. I am talking about sites that don't aim to better our economy or society, that don't enlighten or teach, that really don't DO anything. If there is a group or event on Facebook that publicizes or supports a cause then it's not Facebook that is supporting this cause, it is the users. Facebook is the means by which they are doing so. And they do so because they know how popular Facebook has become.

This is me admitting and acknowledging my addiction and how bad it is/how negative an impact it has on my life.

Isn't that one of the steps in rehab? Admitting you have a problem?

And who knows, maybe I will sober up. Maybe I will cut Facebook out of my life. Or just cut back. Or only use it for reasons that could potentially benefit me (ie. keeping in touch with friends, getting updates about important events or causes that interest me, etc.) and quit using it to "cyber stalk" people who, honestly, I don't give two shits about.


And the sad thing is, I don't consider myself and my addiction the worst there is! I see people who update their status' and let everyone know what they are doing EVERY FIVE MINUTES or who use their status' to let everyone know just how shitty they are feeling. Perhaps it's a grab for attention or maybe they are just really open people. I don't care what it is - it's annoying. Your boyfriend broke up with you and you are having trouble moving on? Go talk to a friend about it or sit in a dark room and cry. Don't put all of your emotion into a status update. It makes you look even more desperate and pathetic than you probably already are.

...wow. Don't know where that anger came from but heck, it's my blog and I can say what I want.

Facebook. It's the new cyber drug. And it's a tough habit to kick.