Facebook Ruling The Nation

While there isn't any college class that could convince me to sign up for a Myspace page (and thankfully, it seems the era of Myspace seems largely to be over, sending most people's obnoxious blinking page with music pouring out whether I like it or not over to the junk heap with their Friendster login), I do already have a Facebook page, which I enjoy using, so I'd much rather talk about that.

While I didn't want to sign up for a Facebook page about a year ago (the whole idea of social networking was a little disconcerting to me), it didn't take long for the appeal to sink in after my employer compelled me to sign up. Immediately, I was able to connect to friends I hadn't seen in years, was able to organize events with friends in town quickly, and had an 24/7 outlet to waste time and generally avoid both school and work duties. Although Facebook was simple enough when I signed up, there's even more to distract every day, with an invitation to some new game or group or something in my face every time I sign in. Still, Facebook is largely how I interact with my friends and many of my co-workers, since they're scattered through the country. Facebook is where I learrn about new pregnancies, see pictures of the resulting children, share bargains, organize my soccer team, make plans, etc. It all seems to come together through the one site and the fact that I can reach Facebook through my phone only serves to centralize my online attention further. Much to my wife's chagrin, Facebook is always there, but for me, it's an effective form of communication with convenience on its side.

Now, the question is: how do I present myself on Facebook? While I suppose it could be argued (possibly by a French philosopher) that how we present ourselves is always with a bit of illusion, the person I am on Facebook is largely the same as the way I present myself in real life. If I had managed my friends list somewhat differently, maybe I could have pulled off a grand illusion in which I was a East Coast socialite who vacations in Europe every year, but considering I'm “friends” with my boss, my wife, my best friends, and people who have known me pre-Facebook for a decade or so, there's not much illusion to be had. Who could I possibly fool? It's just not really an option.

I can see where there's a benefit in the internet offering an opportunity for people to try on new personae and consider altering their personality for different situations, but to be frank, at thirty three years old, I feel like it's a little too late for me on that front, as for better or worse, I've settled into a personality that I seem to be stuck with. For me, Facebook is more of an opportunity to enjoy the life I have, the friends I'm fortunate to know, share information, and interact in strange ways with the world around me. That seems to be enough, without having to fashion a mask of some sort.