FACEBOOK SUCKS

In 2008 I joined Facebook and now....my world is one big computerized mess!

Oh sure, it started out easy enough. I friended all of my real life friends. I recruited a bunch of my buddies to join the madness. We played games, took quizzes, commented about how the quizzes were pathetic, had spelling errors and were an utter waste of time....but kept taking them anyway just to pass the time away until the wee hours of the morning.

That craziness wore off just in time to find friends from my old high school, my last high school, my grade school, my clubs, my churches, my parent's friends, my kids, my kids buddies, my kids buddies parents, my family, friend's of family, my past work associates, my college professors, my buddy from my radio DJ days, and various blasts from the past that I still can't quite put my finger on...but I know I just HAVE to know them from somewhere.

So it was that I was friending here, friended there, friending, friended everywhere. It was a hoot.

Weeks turn into days, days into months and months into present day. At any given moment I can get caught up on my old friends' lives, find out more that I care to know about new acquaintances, check out everyone's photos and give the thumbs up whenever the mood strikes, for any reason, for any random event.

All of that is well and good...but...in the process of all this catching up...I found out that an old...OLD...flame got married, divorced, and weird. I found out that some of my weirder friends turned out pretty normal. I found out that some of my goody-two-shoe friends got their freak on and others...put on Jesus...and I just keep reading more and more about people from my past. Sounds great, right?

It would seem that way, but something funky has happened. All of the sudden...about 6 months ago....the excitement of Facebook...wore off!

For a while now, I've gone on there to check out pictures, make sure that everyone is fine, post a few blurbs on my status and try to get off of there as soon as I can.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew that Facebook...somehow...kind-of ruined something for me. 

Something just hasn't felt "right." I have been going about my day all bummed and out of sorts. I couldn't put my finger on it for so many months...but today, I think I figured it out!

The mystery is gone.

I no longer have fun memories to carry me away when I'm stressed out or need a break from the reality I have going on here at home! Why?

Well...

That old flame from teenage past no longer flits through my mind as a fun, little, youthful romantic memory. He's sitting right in front of me on the screen all old and taking up space in my "real" world. That's not youthful OR fun.

My childhood buddy who used to ride through the muddy, water filled ditches with me on bicycles as a kid is now a Democrat....and she's equally annoyed to find out that I'm not.

My spunky friend who was always laughing and showing the world what was what...now argues with her mother, hates work and wishes she could quit her job.

Facebook! You Stupid, Stupid thing! You sucked the fun, quirky, never to be found out mysteries of my youth right out of my life! All of my warm, fuzzy, breezy memories that swept away my stress in times of angst are now replaced with reality. What a stupid, stupid thing!!!

Reality sucks. Reality really is just boring, real life, no fun, darn daily life. And sure...we're blessed and happy and life is truly special...and it's all good for the most part...but OLD memories...those warm, special, only I get to return to those days moments are now gone! :o(

I used to return to childhood at any given point in my day and smile. I used to feel the rain on my face, the mud splashing up my back from my bicycle tire and the water swishing by my legs as I peddle through the ditches. Now...I think of politics and my friend, the democrat.

I, at the very least, enjoyed pretending that those spunky people from my past somehow kept that spark of youth, that uncontrolled love for life and were able to side-step the hum-drum daily yolk of the world.

But no...today my memories are displayed before me in all their glory. All real and ordinary and true. Nothing for the fantasy, wispy dream world of yesteryear. It's all here, all real and all gone.

Thanks Facebook.


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hmmm...

I wonder if my best friend from the First Church of God has a Facebook page yet? When I was 11 years old, I would spend summer days at her house. She had a pool in her backyard and we used to eat peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches on the porch and prank call Joey Darling. Man, those were the days... Oh Wait!