Logging on to Facebook early this week, I was greeted with a personalized “Happy Friends Day” message, posted to mark the 12th birthday of the acknowledged leader in social media.
It came with a video clip flashing faces of my “friends” – including a couple of people I didn’t recognize – and heart-warming images reminding me of memorable moments captured over the years.
Beyond the warm fuzzy feelings it inspired, the Friends Day post prompted reflection on how Facebook has impacted my way of life and become a necessary evil in my line of work.
OK, it’s a great channel for keeping in touch with distant relatives, pals from childhood and school years, and even neighbors with whom one rarely crosses paths. And I admit to occasionally indulging in watching those videos of cutesy animal and baby behaviors, flash mob musicians performing at shopping malls and public squares and other mood-lightening stuff.
But in order to get to postings that really appeal, you have to wade through unsolicited commercial garbage, tips on applying make-up and fake nails, generic advice on personal improvement and spiritual advancement, all the other electronic equivalent of junk mail and myriad other stuff you don’t care a hoot about. Items pile up so fast that it can take hours to scroll down to something of interest that you let slip by for later look.
Is it my imagination or has Facebook become the ultimate time bandit for a lot of users? On the infrequent occasions I actually add something new to my page, it’s kind of disturbing to see how quickly some people respond with “likes” and comments. Are they glued to the screen 24/7? Don’t they have anything better to do?
Fine and good that folks have an outlet for telling the world what they’re feeling and thinking and doing at any given moment. But I worry that they aren’t getting out enough for live face-to-face interaction with other human beings.
Like email communications, Facebook has surely taken its toll on the fine art of letter writing. More appalling, it seems to encourage the butchering of the written word. Proper spelling and grammar have gone out the window as abbreviations, acronyms and emoticons become rife.
I lament that Facebook is now the prime source for information from our local government. What’s happened to the good old days of the press conference and the interview that allowed reporters to pose probing questions and dig for details? They’re being traded in for sketchy news blurbs, limited to official postures expressed in the glowing terms.
And it’s not like everything is found in one convenient place. No. There are separate Facebook sites for the government, the press office, the sports commission, various cultural centers, the fire department, the mayor himself, and probably others yet to be discovered. I have to follow each and every one day by day to keep up on important happenings. It’s exhausting.
The one plus is having an ability to keep a pulse on public opinion through added comments, even though most appear to come from the mayor’s die-hard fan club or hired shills who tend to vilify anyone questioning the work of the current administration.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg revolutionized social networking and made a fortune to boot. With millions worldwide now hooked on his communication system, I’d like to believe the good far outweighs the bad in changing our quality of life. But fear runs deep that he may have cursed the human race with a new and incurable form of addiction from which there is little hope of escape.