Facebook

Once again, Facebook amazes me. About nine months ago, an unfamilar lady requests me as a friend. As I normally do, I send a private message and ask, “Who are you?”  The lady replies back and says, “I’m your second cousin.” She proceeds to recite a long lineage of family names to support her claim.

Yep. She’s my cousin. I love keeping up with my family tree, so I have some more names to fill in the tree and I’m very excited about it. When I discover new family members, I get an overwhelming feeling of execuberance. People have always amazed me.

I want to be close to all of my family members but it something that is not possible. Facebook has been an amazing tool for keeping up with my family and friends. Many people consider Facebook to be an intrusion into their privacy and they are exactly right. In a way, you are allowing the world access to your life, but ultimately you control who you let in and let out of your little Facebook world.

I have met friends from elementary, middle, high school, and college. I’ve even found some old girlfriends and even made contact with my half sister. I have accepted some FB friends that I did not necessarily like in High School, but some have requested me as their FB friend that I thought didn’t nessarily like me. I believe that Facebook is responsible or made it possible for these contacts to be made.

It amazes me how the critics claim that technology (TV, Cellphones, Laptops, Ipods) has made us drift apart from our families and drift into our own little worlds.  In some cases, I agree with them, but I believe Facebook has drawn me a little closer to my extended family.  With just a few clicks, I can check up on hundreds of friends and family members.

In closing, I believe that too much of anything is not good and technology is no exception.  I’m thankful that technology has allowed me to make new connections, reconnections, and even some disconnections! 🙂