Most of my group of college friends, women in their mid-40s, are on Facebook now. They keep trying to get me to join, but then a little tiff developed between them when one wrote something on another’s wall and another one saw it and then it all escalated and others got involved and expressed strong opinions…Are we 14 again? God, I hope not.

Having said all that, there are people I’d love to hear from again. Maybe I should just send them an old-fashioned, hand-written letter.

Excellent piece, Aaryn.

I’ve used myspace for a couple of years and more recently facebook but not to get in touch with old friends but to keep in touch with young ones – friends of my deceased son. They seem to be equally keen to keep in touch with me but maybe they are just very kind.

After my son died his myspace site became a place where his friends could keep in touch with him. He has hundreds of post death messages! Weird – maybe. Moving – definitely. (Maybe that’s the ultimate keeping in touch with old friends!!)

If you’re so concerned with people from your deleted past rekindling an unwanted relationship, I’d ask why would this concern you? It’s no different than meeting them in grocery store after 10 years. You know, you’d say 10 words to them and never see or talk with them again. Facebook’s the same way. You accept their friend request and then never speak. I’d say Facebook is even more betterer in the fact that you don’t have to accept the request in the first place, thus negating any awkward 10 word conversation.

I could go on and on about the growing global consciousness, the genius of twitter and human augmented intelligence, but you probably think I’m already weird enough to delete me… So, while I appreciate a solid griswald reference more than most, I must disagree with your overanalysis and hesitation to use a form of communication such as Facebook. Once you realize that Facebook IS life, no different from the one you recall just some short years ago, you may be in a better place to embrace it.

I signed on in March of last year, then deactivated and didn’t reactivate until August and my father who hasn’t spoken to me in 10 years “friended” me. Weird. I don’t get into the poking and applications too much but it’s fun to peek into other peoples lives and hope they’re doing worse than me if I didn’t really like them to begin with.

I am so completely against FB it’s not even funny. But why re-state what you already know … my internet world and my real life world very rarely converges. And if the only thing we have in common is the past, that’s how it will stay. High school and college were great times for me but as my old adage goes, “If I wanted to be friends with you, I would be.” I don’t do half-assed friendships or surface value “connections”. So … you’re either in my life or you’re not. FB serves merely as a conduit to stalk or gossip about old “friends” which to me, hmmm … sounds just like high school!

Gag me with a spoon~

And in a related sidebar, a girl I knew for ONE YEAR when I was 9 FB’d me, read my blog, and called me “manic.” i mean, she did it with “no disrespect intended,” but I was left wondering just how much of an impact I wanted my digital friends to have on my real life.

I think I agree with your best friend’s summation.

No Facebook for me!