Several years ago, I was working on a paper for a class in grad school when I noticed the website on my friend's computer screen. She was commenting on a common friend's status and I thought it was pretty funny so I asked her what she was doing. She said she was on Facebook. I asked what it was and she said that it's a social networking site. I was already familiar with Friendster so I knew what social networking meant even if I didn't own a Friendster account.
The thing is, I've never really been one to do something just because it's what's currently popular. In fact, I'm the total opposite of it. I didn't read the Harry Potter books nor even seen the Harry Potter movies until the 2nd movie came out, I didn't watch Meteor Garden until the last episode showed on ABS-CBN, I didn't join friendster until 2005 and that was after I joined facebook. See, at that point, facebook wasn't at all yet popular. I joined facebook on September 26, 2005 so I've been on this thing for a while now.
One thing I've noticed was how facebook became so integrated in people's lives. We've all so gotten used to checking our facebook accounts several times a day just to make sure we didn't miss a comment or the chance to comment on someone's status. Microblogging as twitter calls it, facebook has become pieces of what we know of our friends. "I'm hungry", "...running late...", "singing mode." are just examples of statuses we see on a daily basis. We comment on these statuses feeling we're connected to the owner of the statement and while that's not a bad thing, it's just not good enough.
This isn't a rant against facebook. I think facebook is a wonderful tool to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. But the truth is, I've spent and wasted a lot of time on facebook. It's just another excuse to go online. Truth be told, how many of us are truly productive when we go on facebook? Probably not a whole lot right?
And it's not like I have so much to do now that I no longer have time to waste, but honestly, I'm looking forward to discovering/rediscovering things that I can spend my time on instead. Of course I'll miss facebook. Don't even get me started on the "Like" button. I'm already having "Like" withdrawals as it is.
So why am I leaving facebook? Facebook is a good tool to "keep in touch" with people. But I know that there are better ways to do that. I'd rather spend time with them if I could and know what they're up to when I see them in person. And if I can't then that's okay. I believe that God sends people our way in opportune times because it's His perfect time. He doesn't need facebook for that.
