My reasons for joining the Facebook world were fairly valid I thought. Our family had recently moved out of Sydney and so this was a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. Instead of trying to remember to individually send pictures of kids to family members, one quick upload and they could all see. Great!
I really feel lately though that there is so much weight on Facebook and I guess the ‘ethics’ around it. If you haven’t commented on a friends photo of their child’s first day of school, or you forget to click ‘like’ on a funny status update of another friend, are you now considered not as close to that person? Will that person be offended?
I first started noticing this a couple of years ago. Life is crazy busy (as it is for everyone) and I find myself not on Facebook as much as I used to be, especially in my breastfeeding years. I constantly miss updates from close friends and when I catch up with them in person and ask ‘what’s been happening?’ I really mean it! But I noticed when I did stop scrolling through Facebook as much that I couldn’t keep a lot of the older friendships I had. That’s sad isn’t it!? I certainly don’t blame anyone for this, and I also don’t blame myself. In the past two years, having not been on my phone as often has been refreshing. I’m flat out during the day and to be honest the last thing I feel like doing at night, if I get a chance to sit, is scroll through my phone.
A really positive thing is that not having learnt about my friends lives from Facebook, means I’m more inclined to catch up with them personally, and we actually have things to talk about! I remember a while ago catching up with friends and everyone knew what everyone was up to before we’d even properly chatted.
Anyway, a few thoughts there, but isn’t it a funny world we now live in!
