Facebook, myspace, bebo, Social networking, weather you like it or not it seems to be here to stay, solidly engraved into the culture of this generation, i have heard people argue for and against the craze, so i thought it may be time to toss my 2 cents in.
I believe, like most tools there is a proper use and there is an improper use, take a shovel for example, if you are digging in the garden with one (as i was this afternoon) it is a very useful implement i certainly would not want to be without… however if i tried to use that shovel to vacuum my carpet or brush my teeth I don’t need to tell you that would not be one of my brighter ideas, and if i began spending all my time with that shovel, that would just be plain weird.
Now let me see if i can make this analog align itself into some form of sense… using the premise of Facebook being a tool, it is brilliant when used correctly, ie, it has allowed me to reconnect with old friends like Megan, stay in touch with new friends like Orion and indeed meet some inspirational people like Matthew, but when i spend too much time on it, it starts robbing time from other more important things, like time with my Saviour, working in the very occupation her has provided me with, and making meaningful contact with friends and family, when this begins to happen I cease being a good steward of the time alotted to me. Time is indeed precious, we should not “Kill time” it should be spent wisely on a daily basis, as you can never get a refund on any minute you spend.
Also the friendships cultivated on Facebook are typically (lets face it) superficial at best, lacking any real depth as long as you subscribe to the nominal “friendship” model of looking at their updates and pics while “liking” and commenting your way through. This is the reason i tend to actually message people to get to know them better, (by the way, this function is easily catered for by the now seemingly antiquated system called email.)
At this point, if you are still reading… you are likely wondering “what is this guy getting at?” well here it is… as I am not one of those strong willed people who can just look once and log-off, i must browse into every crevice of the social monolith that is facebook. Due to the fact my work has me at screen all day every day, the temptation to login is too ready a temptation, so i am introducing my own browsing rules for one month, to be re-evaluated on October 12.
For the next month i will only login to Facebook on Saturday nights.
This does not mean i am severing contact as i am still connected to twitter/email/msn/etc
Catch you all soon.
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