Thoughts on Facebook.

The adverts on my Facebook profile often ask me whether I have ever met Zac Efron, this is more than a bit bizarre seeing as I not only dislike Zac Efron, but I have also never met him. I realise this is quite an obvious fact, for if I had indeed been graced by the presence of Mr Troy (ooo I feel a Classics reference coming along...*crush it, crush it, crush it* *crushed*) I'm sure I would have let people know. Anyhoodle, back to Facebook. A month ago they were constantly bombarding me with your typical 'singles adverts' - 'Would you like a boyfriend for Christmas?' 'Hot singles' 'Festive Fun' and so on. It seemed that Facebook was attempting to rescue me from the derogatory female title of 'Old Maid' or 'Crazy Cat Lady' - obviously it was unsuccessful as I have been able to save myself from such a fate, for the time being, by myself. Go me. I am also flooded with adverts like 'Have you got a bad church website?' (errrm excuse me?) and 'Free Condoms' (at what point did I confess to Facebook that I am sexually active and therefore desperately in need of contraception? As far as I recall, never.)

This brings me on to my next point. Facebook is trying to control my life. It WANTS me to have a boyfriend, it's BULLYING me into meeting Zac Efron, is PRESSURISING me into sexual intercourse, it makes BITCHY comments about my church website. Go DIE. Not only do I find peer pressure by advertising a little generic, I am also very wary that Facebook is not controlled by one person, unlike Myspace, which everyone knows is run by Tom, who occasionally pops a message in my inbox. What a lovely man. If myspace were trying to control my life, I would message Tom and tell him to cut it out. This, unfortunately, is not the case with Facebook, I don't know WHO to contact, WHO to trust, WHO to blame for this invasion of my privacy. Maybe the Matrix actually exists, or is in the process of existing and Facebook is the first step towards the computerisation of the human race - what a thought!

What interests me about Facebook is the way it plays on the human need for relationship. It exploits our desire to always be connected to the people we love and our obsession with being heard or noticed. People are always wearing their hearts on their Facebook status, writing on their beloved's wall and constantly chatting on Facebook chat. What happened to, at the very least, talking on the phone, or writing letters or perhaps meeting them in person? Obviously, I recognise the benefits of social networking and I thoroughly enjoy being in contact with my friends who live over-seas, but sometimes I feel as if I am living my life and expressing my feelings via a virtual world as opposed to a genuinely experiencing the REAL one. It has made relationships convenient - real effort is no longer required and consequently we are rapidly falling into the trap of having friendships that seem deep and meaningful but are in fact shallow and meaningless. This is essentially due to the fact that we cannot physically spend quality time with all the friends we have on Facebook, yet we continue to fill up our 'friend' slots with more and more people, spreading our capacity to love fully and completely thinner and thinner. Indeed this is not everyone's experience, maybe it's just mine but I look at my younger brother and his friends and I see a generation controlled by the internet - it frightens me.

Facebook in principle is a fabulous idea, yet in practice it is, as with many things, often taken to the extreme. People are lazy in their relationships, everyone is exposed to the deepest, most irrational of thoughts or emotions thanks to the wonderful invention of the 'status' - 'What is on your mind?' I mean c'mon as if that isn't CREEPY enough!? We waste so much of our time fearing the loss of relationship, using Facebook as our security, and as a result we stop investing our time appropriately. I personally have become sick of Facebook. I hate how everything is broadcasted, I particularly dislike how a 'change in relationship status' is made so obvious that people feel compelled to comment. I particularly dislike my own attachment to the website, how it's the number one website on my internet browser, how I automatically type www.facebook.com into the search bar every time I connect to the internet, how it aids procrastination...I feel as if I have missed out on SO many opportunities and experiences. I think of the books I might have read, the films I might have seen, the work I might have done and it makes me sad to think that I will never get that time back. EVER.

Facebook is essentially my Frenemy. Yes, they DO exist, according to Women's Lifestyle magazines (which of course speak the truth and only the truth.) It is my friend because it prevents me from losing contact with the people I love but it is also my enemy in that it wastes my time and my life. Now I am never sure what the rules for Frenemies are in Girlworld, I know you're meant to keep your friends close but your enemies closer...maybe you just need to ditch frenemies altogether. They seem pretty useless. To conclude, I am tempted to delete my Facebook entirely, unfortunately by removing said social network profile I am likely to be forced, kicking and screaming, out of the loop as recently people have been using Facebook to inform people of certain events etc. Therefore, I am required to keep my account...what a pointless rant.