Facebook fallout

It's been almost a full three weeks since I de-activated my Facebook account. The fallout has been interesting. Family members and those closest to me quickly noticed my absence. What I didn't anticipate was where I'm falling with my Facebook friends.

We all have these people in our friend lists. To me, they're the people that fuel Facebook. I know what's going on with my family members and my closest friends. I no longer have a method to keep tabs on people that I know and like, but aren't that close with. And really, that's what Facebook is about. Last week I ran into someone I worked with over the last year. Happy to see him, I kind of slapped him on the back when I sat down with him and asked how things were going with him.

"Good, good," he said to me. "I thought about you the other day and I went to send you a message on Facebook..."

The word said it all. The way he said it and kind of left it hanging out there, like the jig was up. You've deleted me and I'm not going to pretend you didn't. Let's talk about this. Let's get awkward.

I admire him for it, really. Good on him for having the stones to step up and say it, you know?

"Oh man! I deleted my account," I told him.

"You deleted it!" he said back excitedly, killing any tension or awkwardness that may have been brewing. "Good for you."

I've gotten the good-for-you a fair bit in the last few weeks. I remember giving the good-for-you to people who quit FB while I was using it. It's crazy to me the hold that a site can get on you. Think back 10 years ago when the Internet was in its infancy and try to tell yourself that there will be sites that you can check 24/7 that are continuously updated to see what your friends are doing. What would your 1999 self say to the time-traveling you of now?

"Save yourself! Y2K will kill us all!"

Besides that.

"You're a motherf***ing time-traveler, man!"

Of course. But besides that?

I wouldn't be able to wrap my mind around it. I liked my basketball and news sites, I loved my e-mail and that was it. Real-time was spent, for the most part, doing real things.

Next post, the introduction of a solution for my favourite movie scenario.