FaceBook... Is it a good thing??

I am on FaceBook (FB) and so are countless numbers of my friends. Ever since I jumped onto the bandwagon, I've been able to reconnect with so many old friends, much to my joy. It's always nice to have good old friends popping up in our lives every now and then! One of my life's joys. And these days, it enables me 'know' what's going on in their lives.

So, FB is good... but is it all good? For the above reason, I'd give a resounding yay! But looking at how the young people use it, I get the feeling that they project their emo-ness way too much. Perhaps that is the way they fish for remarks and feedbacks. A whole new generation is growing up through more of a sanitized and digital interaction rather than face-to-face one. And I wonder whether we'll be getting a gen who might not be comfortable with real communication in a face-to-face situation. Or whether they are capable of true empathy and understanding for others. Screen interaction after all is done behind the the screen with a keyboard. What you see may not be what you get.

Already researchers are questioning the jumping onto the 'digital protests' of treatment on people like Aung Sung Su Kyi. Some wonder whether clicking a support or writing a supporting comment makes them feel good.. I don't know. I tend to think that if one is not passionate about a cause, he'll not give a second look.

But coming back to interaction on FB... such kinds of interactions don't quite need you to be giving full attention too, cos you can be multitasking while FBing... which might create in real life this same surreal feeling...

And on FB too, it's mostly about me and me and more me. Some studies have labelled this as infantilizing of the mind. You know how we labelled the Terrible Twos.. A Terrible Two's needs must be met immediately... and everything is about them! Anyway, it results in selfish and attention deficient people which translates to short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathize and a shaky sense of identity.

So, is FB good? Guess like everything else, there are the pros and cons.