On Polls, Words and Contemplating Popping My Cherry
I was out with a group of folks the other night. Some were old friends. Others were casual friends. And one guy was someone I’d never seen before in my life. We ate bad food, got loosened up on margaritas and jumped around like teenaged girls at the Britney Spears concert.
Good times were had by all.
Over the course of this magical evening, I was asked quite a few times if I was on Facebook.
No, I take that back. I was actually never asked if I am on Facebook. It was just assumed that I am on Facebook.
And yet, I am not on Facebook. In fact, I’ve gone on record against Facebook. I sold my soul to Twitter, but I’ve been able to keep my Facebook hymen strongly intact.
But now I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to pop the cherry.
It became clear to me the other night that Facebook is just the way people are keeping in touch these days. Email’s out. Phones are certainly dead (unless you are using them to update your Facebook status). You can pretty much kiss hanging out in person a very fond farewell. Facebook has taken the place of all of that.
For the record, that saddens me. It really does. And yet, I don’t want to be left behind. I still want to be a part of society. I want to foster friendships with the people with whom I gawked at Miss Spears. And as disappointing as it is, the only way to really do that at this juncture seems to be Facebook.
So what’s a boy to do? If I join Facebook it means going back on my word. It means doing something I said I’d never do. If I don’t join Facebook, it means I’ll grow old completely alone (or maybe with a few cats).
I’d say growing old without friends is the worse fate, but I’m not so sure of that. Some of the people in my life will never let me live down going back on my word when it comes to Facebook. And those people can be relentless.
And yet, as relentless as they may be, I’d like to keep them in my life. And that may mean I have to go back on my word.
Oh, Facebook gives me a headache!
But what if it wasn’t my word? What if it was your word. What if you decided whether or not I should fall in line with the masses? If that were the case, I could not be held responsible. You’d be held responsible. And I could give up my Facebook virginity with a clear conscious.
So, I open it to a vote.
My eternal fate lies in your hands, dear readers.
I am tempted to vote, but alas, I don’t see an accurate account of my opinion in the options. So I’ll tell you here. The short answer is yes, but it is very qualified. It’s good to have that option, but you don’t necessarily have to use it. You should try not to abuse it. I know some people, some whom I love dearly, who are Facebook fanatics. Their world seems to revolve around their Facebook updates, status, whatever. Keeping up with what they’re doing is pretty easy if I’m on Facebook, and that’s pretty much the only reason I have an account. I almost never update or post anything on my page. I just haunt other people. I’ve actually taken off much of my personal information. I never used my real name, just as I don’t use my real name on the blogs.
So my vote is a very, very weak “yes.”
You’re like my Jiminy Cricket!
It took you a really long time to get a cell phone. Now you have one.
I’m not sure, but I think resisting Facebook is like resisting cell phones.
At first we all thought cell phones were troublesome and now we all have them.
I think most people agree with you that Facebook is troublesome, but the crowd of people who have them just gets bigger.
I didn’t vote in your poll because I don’t have an opinion, but if you do go on Facebook we can be friends.
(Also, once you create a Facebook profile, you can de-activate it and it will keep all your info for when you want to re-active. You can stay on the fence AND have a profile … sometimes.)
Now you know how people felt when the were asked to go from a rotary phone to cordless. You can only hold out for so long. If you manage to resist longer than anyone else, you can grow a chin beard, buy a buggy and start your own Amana Colonies.
I know the day is not over, but the people have been heard. I am now on Facebook.
It’s the end of an era.
You’re right – Facebook is how you keep in touch with people, especially when they are long distance. Remember when you used to send e-mails to chat — nope, you don’t do that anymore — just post something to a friend’s wall or send them a F/B message.
As for it replacing in person contact? Not for me! I still like to sit and talk and have a glass of wine or a beer!
But even for people that I will see maybe this weekend, I still like seeing them post about their comings and goings during the week…
The only problem I have with F/B is having my personal life and my professional life mix — it’s weird when people you work with (but are not really friends with) friend you on F/B.