If you do not use Facebook or have never used Facebook then this post may not make much sense to you but for those of you who do use it chime in with the observations you have observed.
I have been on Facebook now for about a year or less and let me say that this is a great way to network over the internet. I have used the site to reconnect with long lost friends, people I went to high-school with (although only 3 of my former classmates have discovered Facebook) kept tabs on current friends, as well as connect with co-workers. I have also used Facebook as a place to post photos and send out event invitations for our Bible Fellowship class events.
All pretty cool stuff and you can't beat the price.....free. In my short lived time on this social networking site I have noticed the following trends.
1. The wife is usually the first to join and usually the more frequent user. I admit...I had never planned to join Facebook, I thought only teenage girls used Facebook and that any grown man over the age of 17 who used Facebook was a pansy. I take that back and wish to restate my opinion...only grown men over 17 who text more than 25 times a day are pansies.....Facebook is manly.
2. Older people begin using Facebook as a means to monitor their children's behavior. It all starts out so innocent doesn't it? You begin with the intentions of keeping up with Johnny, and you do but what became a chore quickly becomes a quest as people begin sending you invites to be their friend and as you find friends online that you didn't even think were alive any more or who could spell P.C. let alone navigate the world wide web.
3. People are friend poachers. I have noticed that there are some who's main desire in live is to have the most friends and this means tagging anyone and everyone who is on Facebook whether they know you or not.
4. Applications - as of right now there are approximately 1 billion applications you can use on Facebook including photo sharing, charitable causes, calendars, maps, quizzes, and yes....flair...lot of flair.
5. Profile pictures - most people can't take a decent profile picture. Some try to get artsy with chopping their faces in half, twisting the picture at a funny angle, utilizing black and white while others post pictures of themselves they probably should not. Maybe we can write a business plan and create a start up company to do nothing more than create great looking profile pictures for the millions of Facebook members? Kind of like the glamor shots of the www?
Personally I see Facebook as another tool to use, a means to reconnect, and way to communicate but never with the intention of displacing face to face time.