We're Like Totally in Like... With Ourselves

 

My Facebook story is probably a little more sentimental and sappy than your standard story.

I had stubbornly resisted Facebook’s pull for at least year on GP: anytime friends tell me I just have to do something ‘cause it’s the hot new thing, I can’t do it… it’s a one my character flaws. But in 2007, after undergoing brain surgery and staring down about 6 months of confinement in the exciting world known as my childhood bedroom, my whole outlook changed. Facebook seemed like a Godsend.

And it was at first. Everyone knows the whole Social Network spiel about connecting you with long lost friends and sharing different parts of their life, yadda yadda yadda.

But at my level of isolation and constraints? It’s funny to think how giddy I was about Facebook back then. I could communicate with people on my terms and literally see what people were up to. As I slowly got better I was able to meet up with old friends who were still in the area. Seeing all the things everyone was accomplishing also pushed me towards recovery. I was happily addicted.

Then the Facebook I knew and loved started to become more of nuisance. People I didn’t actually know start sending friend requests. Or was it that I couldn’t I knew them, but didn’t remember them? Out of fear of being rude I started accepting every request that came my way – I mean, “Anika Brown” isn’t exactly a common name. Tired of unsolicited invites, I ended up purging my “friends” list. Next came the random Farmville posts (“Marilyn has found a wandering stallion…” Can someone please, please tell me what that means?) and other weird crap.

But my biggest annoyance? The nonstop ego machine that Facebook has become. The speed with which it has turned from voyeuristic to exhibitionistic to narcissistic is simple incredible. The pictures, questions, and relentless updates that get posted generally fall under one of these categories

A) So ridiculously mundane (“Bout to go to the movies!!”) you have to be arrogant to think anyone would be interested

B) Blatantly trying to show off (see Hot Camera Phone Shot)

C) Potential controversial or philosophical sounding statement aka comment bait

I’ll be the first to admit to getting sucked into Facebook’s web of social self-absorption. But my friends and I aren’t the only ones.

I realize I have Utopian view of what FB should be like; that doesn’t we should be a little concerned about where things are headed.