 |
 |
| Make a Smilebox photobook |
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Face book - good or evil?
Well, it’s been two or three months since I broke down and joined the popular social network called Face book. I was heavily influenced by my son and daughter-in-law, who were mesmerized by it whenever they were over at our house. I really didn’t see what the attraction was, but I figured I might be able to keep up with their lives better if I joined. So I did, even though I had always thought it was for teenagers. It definitely is a fact of life for the younger set. I once asked Sean what percentage of people under thirty were probably on Face book or My Space, and he guessed about 90%. I’d say he was about right. I have been surprised, though, by how many people my age (old) are also on there!
It didn’t take long to find lots of “Friends.” All my former students are on there, and I’ve found out all kinds of interesting things about their lives after high school. (Sometimes I learn things I really didn’t want to know.) I chat with a few of them regularly. One night, I kept up with a real-time account of the birth of one of my former student’s first baby. It was quite exciting.
Only about four of my high school buddies are on Face book, but it sure has been fun catching up with them. One of them is fighting a battle with cancer, and I keep up with how he is doing. I also found old college friends as well as many friends from various churches we have attended over the years. Even my current pastor is on there. I’ve also kept up with people we met on our last cruise. A couple of close, current friends are on my Friend list as well as a few family members. I love keeping up with them through their wall posts. I’ve never been much of a phone person, and I never write letters to send through snail mail, so Face book provides me with contact I otherwise would not have.
I also love seeing all the pictures people post. I’ve enjoyed sharing my pictures as well. I’ve wasted time answering random quizzes where people reveal facts about themselves, and I’ve wasted lots of time playing games, mostly word games like Scrabble and Scramble. One night I stayed up till midnight playing a three-way Scrabble game with two of my former students. On the plus side, experts say that such mind games can help us avoid Alzheimer’s. Oh, and then there is Farm Town, sort of like a Sim City for the country. I’ve got cows, pigs, horses, and lots of crops to raise. (I need two more neighbors to go to the next level if any of you are interested.)
I once read where a person joined Face book and a friend said to them, “Welcome to the biggest time-drain of your life.” Well, I guess it certainly could be. One does have to exercise a little discipline. Some people obviously spend WAY too much time on there, but I try to check mine maybe two or three times a day, which I can do since I’m retired.
Other people make fun of Face book because of the rather humdrum, boring things that people post like, “I got only two hours of sleep last night,” or “Gave the dog a bath today.” But the reality is that life is made up of just such moments and concerns, and it helps you feel connected to people when you know what’s on their minds.
In short, I’ve become a true Face book devotee. I know that, without it, I would have felt far more isolated and cut off from the people I know since moving here to the mountains this past year. Some people dislike the impersonal nature of “electronic communication,” but it’s really no different from old-fashioned letter writing – just a quicker response time. Internet communication is definitely better than no communication at all!
The only thing that would make Face book better would be if more of my close friends and family members would join, but so far, I haven’t been able to get them interested in it. Right now, they see it the way I once did, as something that kids do to waste time. Maybe one day they will see it as a way to keep in touch with the people you care about and have fun, too.
It didn’t take long to find lots of “Friends.” All my former students are on there, and I’ve found out all kinds of interesting things about their lives after high school. (Sometimes I learn things I really didn’t want to know.) I chat with a few of them regularly. One night, I kept up with a real-time account of the birth of one of my former student’s first baby. It was quite exciting.
Only about four of my high school buddies are on Face book, but it sure has been fun catching up with them. One of them is fighting a battle with cancer, and I keep up with how he is doing. I also found old college friends as well as many friends from various churches we have attended over the years. Even my current pastor is on there. I’ve also kept up with people we met on our last cruise. A couple of close, current friends are on my Friend list as well as a few family members. I love keeping up with them through their wall posts. I’ve never been much of a phone person, and I never write letters to send through snail mail, so Face book provides me with contact I otherwise would not have.
I also love seeing all the pictures people post. I’ve enjoyed sharing my pictures as well. I’ve wasted time answering random quizzes where people reveal facts about themselves, and I’ve wasted lots of time playing games, mostly word games like Scrabble and Scramble. One night I stayed up till midnight playing a three-way Scrabble game with two of my former students. On the plus side, experts say that such mind games can help us avoid Alzheimer’s. Oh, and then there is Farm Town, sort of like a Sim City for the country. I’ve got cows, pigs, horses, and lots of crops to raise. (I need two more neighbors to go to the next level if any of you are interested.)
I once read where a person joined Face book and a friend said to them, “Welcome to the biggest time-drain of your life.” Well, I guess it certainly could be. One does have to exercise a little discipline. Some people obviously spend WAY too much time on there, but I try to check mine maybe two or three times a day, which I can do since I’m retired.
Other people make fun of Face book because of the rather humdrum, boring things that people post like, “I got only two hours of sleep last night,” or “Gave the dog a bath today.” But the reality is that life is made up of just such moments and concerns, and it helps you feel connected to people when you know what’s on their minds.
In short, I’ve become a true Face book devotee. I know that, without it, I would have felt far more isolated and cut off from the people I know since moving here to the mountains this past year. Some people dislike the impersonal nature of “electronic communication,” but it’s really no different from old-fashioned letter writing – just a quicker response time. Internet communication is definitely better than no communication at all!
The only thing that would make Face book better would be if more of my close friends and family members would join, but so far, I haven’t been able to get them interested in it. Right now, they see it the way I once did, as something that kids do to waste time. Maybe one day they will see it as a way to keep in touch with the people you care about and have fun, too.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Friends Come for a Visit
What a fun weekend! Ken and Vivian Payne and Vivian's mom, Hattie, and David and Linda Lavender came for an overnight visit. It was great to see them, even if the weather was not what we had ordered. The Paynes arrived at lunchtime on Saturday, and we ate hamburgers Doug had grilled on the deck. Unfortunately, it was too chilly to eat outside. The weather started to clear a little after we ate, so I took Vivian to my favorite plant nursery since she is in the middle of a landscaping project. It is the most beautiful nursery I've ever seen, with a huge variety of plants. We had fun tramping through the mud looking at flowers.
When we got back, the Lavenders had arrived, and I finished getting supper ready. We had barbeque pork, Brunswick stew, baked beans, corn-on-the-cob, and slaw. Vivian had brought a birthday cake for me and Linda, since both of us have birthdays coming up this week. It was the coolest cake with a picture of us celebrating our birthdays together two years ago. The picture was even edible! It was also a delicious cake, especially with ice cream. After supper we watched the latest X-file movie and then sat out on the deck talking until quite late. We had blankets and sweaters!
This morning we got up and made coffee and sat around talking a lot more. Then we went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast, The Cottage Deli. It has a buffet, and the food is as good as Cracker Barrel's. The Paynes left after breakfast as Hattie was not feeling well. By then, the weather was much-improved. We then drove around for a long time showing the Lavenders all the sites, especially the campgrounds. They have a very nice RV, and we thought they might want to bring it up this way sometime. We stopped at a roadside stand and bought tomatoes, watermelons, and plants.
The Lavenders left when we got back. Doug took a nap while I read the Sunday paper and watched This Week with George Stephanopolus, a Sunday tradition with me. Mama and Daddy came down for supper and helped us eat the left-overs. Now I'm blogging and soon I'll finish the day on FaceBook - like I said, a great weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)