Move Over, Online Generation!

I'm witnessing a curious phenomenon--adults are taking over facebook! First it was a college ambition--They went wild, multiplying to themselves friends in a frenzy, reflecting in their moods their rise or drop in popularity as they were ranked on facebook. Then it hit high school and junior high; parents bemoaned the fact that kids saw their friends all day at school, texted them all the way home, and messaged them on facebook until suppertime. They posted pictures all over the web, weird pictures of themselves making faces and trying to look like teen-aged pop stars in the dull blue light of a barrio.

Finally, a few brave adults ventured into the uncharted land and began to connect with its youthful, zany population. Now there is an explosion of mature voices in the land as we discover the excitement of "finding old friends" on facebook. I've 'friended' my aunts, my cousins, friends of my parents, people I haven't seen in thirty years. Now I can stop wondering what ever happened to them. I can ask them.

Not that interaction consumes all one's time; there do seem to be facebook rules. For instance, you don't let people know that you have looked at all their pictures the first day you friend them; that would seem like excessive interest. Wait a week or two, then let them know. You don't message them more than once a day, unless, of course they are asking questions, and you don't overwhelm them with requests for them to join this cause or another. If you do, they will probably hide all posts from you and you will be relegated to the obscure state of yelling in a soundproofed room.

The danger of facebook lies in over-involvement, not just with people, but with games: At the bottom corner of the screen, there are "applications". These are time-wasters, delicious little games that capitalize on one's whims and desires. Love to collect things but don't have room? There are collections online, virtual collections that you can keep in your computer to look at whenever you please: gemstones, painted eggs, puzzle pieces, butterflies; they never need dusting. Wish you could plant a garden and watch things grow but don't have the energy to actually hoe the weeds and till the ground? Well, there is Farmtown to satisfy that need--virtually. Plant and harvest. There are no weeds, no drought, and pigs that never get into the melon crop. There are word games and math games and engineering adventures. Like to take quizzes about the most important person in your world--namely yourself? Never fear, there are a hundred quizzes you can take to see what movie star, profession, or garage sale item you are most like. The list goes on and on... I could post about it indefinitely...except that I have sunflowers that need harvesting, a butterfly collection to enhance, and Pathwords is calling my name. (I can't believe that one of my eighth-grade students is still ranked higher than I am!)