Blog 8_Wk_5_Adbusters

I found the article concerning "facebook suicide" interesting, because I could see a lot of my friends represented by the author of the piece, but personally never considered the possibility of deleting my account. I am not an avid facebook user, I mainly use it as my last resort for procrastination; I rarely update my status or add pictures, could care less how big my friend list is, and primarily use it to see how some of my friends and family members (who I don't have the chance of seeing everyday)are doing. Have I felt awkward doing this before? Absolutely. It's impossible for me to shake off the feeling that I'm prying into someone's personal life, but I suppose more importantly slightly disturbed at times that they'd choose to share that with the world (theoretically). However, I don't know if I'd actually be able to delete my facebook account. It's helped me connect with family members I haven't seen for 3+ years, given me topics to ask about or stay away from when interacting with my friends, feel more connected with my boyfriend who is going to Berkeley (who, even with facebook, I still talk to and text everyday), and most commonly used as a tool to arrange an event for "real life" interactions. If I deleted my account, I would still have e-mail, but it seems to me that more people are motivated to update their facebook profile then take the 5 minutes to write an email, so I would lose this consistent connection with their lives. I'd also lose the access to pictures I wasn't present in, a way of sharing the moment with those who missed the opportunity to experience it. I'd miss being updated of the new play my friend will be staring in, or the new bathroom graffiti found in Berkeley. Ultimately, facebook has been nothing but beneficial in my life, but like all things that cause enjoyment, the problem comes from those who do unfortunately get addicted to it and lose the ability to use it in moderation. I don't feel like my ability to interact physically have suffered, as I still prefer and enjoy talking face to face, but due to the social anxiety I had as a child and still have symptoms of, I sympathize with those who don't possess this ability and rely on the comfort of the computer screen to receive the human interaction we all need to develop healthily.