The Arts...

A Space Odyssey as performed by a high school band.




Thank you List of the Day.

It's time to Face the Facts

I have a very wise friend by the name of Steve Kirks. Recently, Steve did what many Facebook addicts consider the unthinkable... He cancelled his account. According to Steve's blog: "I realized that the constant exposure to other’s lives through social network sites left me feeling empty. I had subcontracted human contact to Facebook and Twitter, allowing to maintain the illusion of ‘keeping in touch’ without touching anything." Doesn't Steve have an elquoent way of phrasing his thoughts?

Lately, I have begun to feel the same way. Currently, I have 136 "friends" on Facebook. (Down a bit since I recently cleaned out the people that I haven't spoken to in ages. Refreshing!) I put the word "friends" in quotation marks not because I don't think of them capable of being my friend, but because I don't believe that Facebook alone could ever really allow us to be what that word implies.

Am I glad to have reconnected with people from my past? Definitely! So glad in fact that I would like to pick up the phone and actually connect. Here is the problem: People don't seem to be able to tear themselves away from Facebook (or texting for that matter.) It seems that more and more people are becoming almost uncomfortable with anything past a superficial level.

I want to hear my friends voices, laughter and tears, read their creative and complete thoughts on their blogs, and occasionally shoot an e-mail if necessary. It makes me wonder...If I were to give up Facebook and texting, would my 136 friends disappear? If I opt for more meaningful connections, am I essentially giving up all connections? Can I win against technology? (Yikes! Do I sound like Carrie Bradshaw here? Not intended!)

How about you give me a call and we will discuss it...

(comments are good too though!)