Inter-connected-isolation.

If you've seen the movie "The Social Network" then you have a good idea of the story of Facebook, and though a great deal of the movie is fiction, the exciting, fast-paced nature of the film cannot be denied. The story is a good one, with an underdog Harvard genius who becomes the multi-billionaire known as Mark Zuckerberg. I find it interesting that this man, the creator of the most revolutionary relational connectedness tool is actually socially awkward, but the real Mark Zuckerberg is told to be more socially inapt then the movie portrays him to be- Oh, the irony. 

Recently I watched a real documentary about Facebook, separating fact from fiction, and giving a comprehensive analysis of how the social networking site has directly affected over 250 million people and their life, minute to minute, hour to hour, every single day. It's arguably helped politicians win and businesses, institutions, or non-profits to directly target users that will be interested in their product. More emotionally appealing, it assists in friendships sustaining, mutual friends meeting, the reconnection of lovers or old high school friends. It first reached the college demographic and now my grandmother has a Facebook account. It's astounding, really, and it's not limited to Facebook but Twitter, Tumblr, Blogger, WordPress, Four Square, MySpace... 

With this blessing of connection that is distinctly unique and advanced from anything human beings have ever experienced thus far, I'm finding through observation and experience the impact of Facebook or other social networking forms goes beyond old friends reuniting, it's changing the nature of relationship.

I'm working to learn to use technology as a beneficial tool to build up my friends and family and I'm finding that there's harsh realities of an age where interconnectedness that I need to acknowledge, including and not limited to the list below and at one point or another I've been guilty of them all. 

1) It gives us a chance to become more self-absorbed then ever before.

Everything that now happens, good and bad, can be posted for the world to see and we can receive attention, praise, or sympathy (whether or not we want to admit it) in mere seconds. This is not necessarily bad... in moderation.

2) It's opened ourselves and others to more criticism.

I'm able to form an opinion about someone based upon a status update, a relationship status, or a photo without having spoke to them in years. God forbid, though, someone doing the same to me.

3) It's more difficult to let things go. 

That friend you had a messy falling out with years ago, your ex-boyfriend, a college girlfriend... You still can be updated on their whereabouts and with that can come a large order of bitterness, too.

4) It gives us a chance to be (lack of a better term) wienies. 

It's much easier to say something online. The passive-aggressive Facebook status, the apology message to the guy you bullied last Summer, and the young guys and girls everywhere who experience the Facebook chat before someone has the chance to ask for a phone number- I call it "Facebook guts" and I have more "Facebook guts" than real-life guts. 

Lastly (and the most importantly) 5) It gives an illusion of relationship. 

I have 1,800 Facebook friends but sometimes I feel lonely on Saturday nights. Why does this make sense? Because my online connectedness does not necessarily reflect my connectedness with the community surrounding me. It can make me feel better about myself, though. That's why I call this post "inter-connected-isolation" because I feel that when these tools are used and abused or misunderstood, it takes us away from the beauty of real connectedness.

I'm a Facebook fan and I believe in the good that comes from all this networking. I've made new mutual friends I've never met, able to keep in touch with those I love that are far away, etc.

These are simply some ideas, with no evidence to prove their validity, that do motivate me to stop focusing on my 1,800+ list of Facebook friends, daily flooding my news feed, and start investing in real, honest, and forgiving friendships Face-to-Face... (book).