Facebook: Good or Bad?

It can become an addiction. I don't think I'm alone on this one.

Below I will discuss some of the finer points of this social network and what attracts us to this beast called Facebook.

Photos
I'm constantly looking at pictures of myself and my friends. I look at party photos, photos from the bar, vacation photos, photos with celebrities, dancing photos, etc. Some I look at over and over again. Most of these are of myself. Am I a narcissist?

Status updates
The status updates have taken up much of my time too. Often I consider what my status update will be on my ride home from work. If I'm listening to a song, I sometimes try to work it in. I fully understand that this is kind of dorky but I can't help myself. I judge others by their status updates. Sometimes it's best to have nothing. Sometimes I'm really turned off by a status update. I hope mine don't turn others off, but I'm sure it happens. I'm quite capable of posting lame shit. I'm not above it.

Comments
I'm compulsive with comments. I snoop around and look for something to respond to. Whether it's about a photo, article, or status update, if it grabs me, I'm gonna comment, and occasionally rant (especially if it's political related). I've lost friends over my commenting. The ones who stick around, and I have close to 300, either ignore everything I comment on, or, are really true friends, or somewhere in between. I often fear, like many, that I will come home after a few too many beverages and post some really embarrassing stuff. So far, I've been okay, I think. It could've been worse.

Aside from photos, status updates, and comments, Facebook is great for events and writing notes or blogging like this on you're reading. Facebook and Myspace (which has a better blog set-up) has inspired me to create Dainty Bones.

So after evaluating the above, is Facebook good or bad?

It's hard to say. I think it's great that I'm not watching really any television anymore and also that I'm being amused and entertained by my friends. It's also interactive. This is all good.

It starts to become bad when you find yourself conversing with people about who or what was posted on Facebook. This is kind of sad. And yes, many of my conversations have consisted of that. It feels weird. This is when Facebook is an issue.

Moderation/Balance is the answer.

...and I just wrote a whole blog on Facebook, a social network, and I'm 34 years old too...kind of pathetic.