With the exception of one person, who became a close follower of Sam around his NICU time via one of his nurses, I know every single person on my facebook personally. People always give me a hard time for having as many friends on there as I do, but the truth of the matter is, I'm a church girl. I was in a sorority. (and yes, those two sentences CAN confidently stand side by side without conflicting!). I've visited over 10 foreign countries and many of those trips were ministry and outreach - working with families and organizations - not an untouchable vacation. I know a lot of people. I'm the kind of person who remembers the first and last name of every single person from Kindergarten. It just all sort of collects and makes a gorgeous mosaic of memories.
But lately, I've been wondering, is Facebook made up of more good than bad? I find myself spending more and more time filtering out my status messages and blocking pictures from certain "friends", because as I get older, I'm finding I don't necessarily want certain moments of my life displayed to the world. And yet, I love the opportunity to post for my circle of loves, who really do know me and get excited about both the poignant and mundane in my life.
Friendships change. They just do. Is it right or healthy for you to watch others' lives play out in pictures and wall posts? Do you still have that right to know everything that is going on without ever really being heart-connected to that person anymore?
I think facebook gives us some sort of disillusionment of humanity - it's easy to post a "love you" or tag someone in a photo, knowing they'll see it and there will be some sort of forced connection there. A virtual world of relationships versus the ones you can touch and actually experience.
I don't know if Facebook is right or wrong. Sometimes I love, need, and cherish those 830 friends. Sometimes I just want my husband (who is not on facebook), my son, and my Jesus.
