Comments on: Face Time

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:30:14 +0000

If you find yourself drunk and eating Hagaan Das while on facebook, then it might be a problem.

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:44:48 +0000

Hi Emily,

I like your blog post. I don’t think I have met you (or maybe 1x on a trip to VT?) but am a childhood friend of Dave’s from RI and he posted this on his FB page…

I was a workaholic mom until about a year and a 1/2 ago and had a nanny at home with my son while I worked at home downstairs. It used to drive me nuts when I would come upstairs from work, and as my son would sleep for 3 hours, the nanny would be noodling on facebook the whole time while he slept. I couldn’t believe what a time waster this was. And why wasn’t she straightening the house or thinking of activities for him while he slept??

Fast forward.. I quit my job to stay home with my son, and a few months later was asked by my husband to check out facebook. Attitude changed very quickly.

I love reconnecting with friends and seeing interesting things people post. I love being able to quickly post pictures so friends and family can see them. Some days it’s a little boring, some days you can sense the energy of the day by the activity. When you are home and in a rural setting like I am, that pulse is a good thing. I love being a “fan” of things like NPR, or bands that I like, or companies I like to see the news they post. I have really gained a lot from it.

Take care, I’ll keep reading….

By: Well Read Hostess

Well Read Hostess — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:32:30 +0000

I love what it has done in terms of connecting me with people I’ve lost touch with and wish I hadn’t.

Plus, I pimp out WRH and Jane, You Ignorant Slut on it.

The biggest downsite of facebook for me is Bejeweled – which is game crack.

By: The Domestic Goddess

The Domestic Goddess — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:17:38 +0000

I started out purposely not adding friends because I loved signing on and it saying, “You have NO FRIENDS.” Thought it was a hoot.

Seriously? For all of people’s eyerolling and complaining, it has enabled me to
1) get in touch with distant family members, both distance and relationship-wise
2) reconnect with childhood friends
3) get back together with those awesome high school chums from band (and now we have a reunion in the works! HUZZAH!)
4)play scrabble for hours on end. Amen.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:38:40 +0000

I think I am one of the few Luddites left who hasn’t signed up for Facebook, but I’ve been more and more tempted lately. Before I had pretty much convinced myself that friendships are meant to be organic, with natural life cycles. But now I find myself thinking about old friendships that have been hibernating due to distance or changing circumstances and I wonder if it’s time to reconnect. We’ll see.

By: Kim S

Kim S — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:31:03 +0000

You already know where I stand on this matter. Of course, I did give it up for Lent last year, just to prove to myself that I could! Now on a different subject, I’m finding myself creeped out by Anonymous commenters on my blog…

By: Nikki Benner

Nikki Benner — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:53:02 +0000

I do love Facebook. It’s a great way for friends to know what’s up, without a phone call… because really, who wants to make all those calls just for a two minute check-in? I’m just terrified I’m going to wind up on a blog like http://stfuparents.tumblr.com/ for overshare…

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:50:47 +0000

I originally signed up for Facebook because one of my husband’s colleagues at work had convinced him to sign up and it immediately became a competition between us to see who would have more friends (currently, I am kicking butt at 359 friends to his 254). I quickly saw how easily one could become addicted to playing around on the site. At first, I will admit, I was kind of embarrassed to admit how much fun I was having. But I am over that now and enjoy updating my status and seeing who comments as much as I like reading what others are doing and commenting as well. Like so many others, I have also re-connected with long lost friends and use it as a way to stay connected with far-flung friends and family. In short, I love Facebook and am not afraid to admit it anymore!!

By: Gale

Gale — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:30:37 +0000

I joined FB about six months ago for no reason in particular. And while I’ve come to check it more frequently, I’m still more of a wallflower than participant. I’ve probably posted two status updates, but I tend to enjoy others’.

I’m very interested to read the study in your link indicating that people involved in social media are more engaged in the real world, because I’ve heard the opposite. If it turns out that I’m wrong, perhaps I’ll embrace it more.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:17:14 +0000

Emily, is this a ploy to get new FB friends? Joking aside, I have a love/hate relationship with FB. Namely, I WANT to hate it, but I love it. It, too, has kept me connected to people whom I’d lost touch with and didn’t know how to get back into touch with. And sometimes it’s really useful — when I need a problem solved, I’ll write a status update about it, and often have a solution within an hour: the power of the collective brain. The NY Times did an interesting article on Twitter yesterday, and why social networking is here to stay.