I sit down at my computer chair, flip open the lid. I sign into my user name, clicking on my web browser and then it happens again – I am no longer in control of where I go on the Internet.
It’s as if I have been taken over by a greater power. I was in control before I opened my web browser, and then my left index finger is no longer a part of me. It reaches for the “F” key, tapping it without hesitation, then the “A” key, my browser assumes the rest and I arrive at the Facebook welcome screen. Let me take a step back and go through my own personal history with Facebook. I remember years back when I was in middle school and first heard of the website.
My mom and sister huddled around the computer viewing my brother’s Facebook page. Silently we scrolled through pictures, comments and wall postings. We stopped relying on our previous memories of my brother. Rather, we allowed Facebook to mimic situations that he had been in and it made us feel like we were there.
I did not think much of it, but after viewing my brother’s profile it was rather odd that all we did for a good chunk of time was stare at a web page. But our attention to the page was drastically different in that we weren’t just reading an online article. We relied on photos and comments to re-live experiences. This was just the beginning of how much we would grow to rely on Facebook.
At the time, I never thought I would have my own Facebook page, let alone did I have the ability to comprehend where this “Facebook” thing was going. I thought it was just going to be another internet craze that would come and go, similar to chatting with friends via AOL. Because I did not have my own profile at the time, I began to have “Facebook dreams.” They were constant and I wasn’t able to see the bigger picture of life.
As a freshman in high school my sister, a junior in high school at that point, invited me to join Facebook. Stoked by the idea of being the hip freshman who has a Facebook, I eagerly joined and became friends with all these junior girls. I checked my Facebook multiple times a day. But is that cool, is that hip or have I not faced the fact that this is the start of a neverending battle with Facebook where I am going to lose months of my life sitting at the computer socializing via the Internet? And not only socializing, but losing my instincts.
It’s been six years and I still have a Facebook. I still check it daily and I still get excited whenever I get a notification. I have access to it on my computer and phone and whether I like it or not, I somehow am always logged on. I want to leave it but I just can’t. We all want to be in the right place at the right time. We want to be at the party and Facebook is the online party. Who wants to be the first one to leave the party?
A friend of mine told me he met a girl in his class but she didn’t have a Facebook so he’s not going to pursue any type of relationship with her. Does anyone see a problem with that? And I know I have had to second guess my instincts based on someone’s Facebook pictures, status’ and wall posts.
All we need is air to breathe, water to keep our body pumping and Facebook to keep us excited every time we get that notification text. I’m hooked, he’s hooked, she’s hooked and anyone who types in “F,” “A,” “C,” “E,” “B,” “O,” “O” and “K” into their web browsers is hooked.
