Chatting
Chatting on the internet is great fun. I've been doing it since I had a 300 baud modem and could out-type the transmission itself. The novelty of chatting over a computer was quite something, especially in the 80's. As we move forward with technology we can now talk on the phone for free, video-chat, email, and even chat over social networking sites like Facebook. So what's the problem? Simply put, we have allowed this technology to REPLACE other forms of communication. The utter convenience of Facebook has made this even more possible. It's time to wake up people. You have neighbors. You have friends. You have family. Put the computer down and go have an actual conversation with someone, face to face. Internet chatting becomes unhealthy only when its done too much and replaces actual "face time" with others. As humans we have electricity in our bodies. The subtleties of conversation for human existence are still in their infancy as we thrust forward with technology. Let's not forget the importance of our physical nature.
Sharing Pictures
A long time ago many people would shake their Polaroid picture, at a party, with others. This is essentially what humans were doing before Facebook. You'd go to someone's house and they would pull out a scrapbook. Think about it for a second, folks. Isn't that really so much better than sitting by yourself looking at a photograph. People laugh together and make instantaneous comments. Do you really want to allow a computer to assist with this while you are sitting all by yourself? Is that cute reaction really captured in a text update? Photography is a beautiful artform and while the Facebook sharing technology is powerful we have immensely decreased the "face time" we spend together looking at each other's photos. Here's a suggestion: don't look at people's Facebook pictures if they live in your town. Call them up. Go to their house. Make a new friend. Then shake that Polaroid picture, in person.
Playing Games
From farm crap to zombie mafia wars to Scrabble Facebook has you covered. Sit back, all by yourself, and play some great games with your friends. Ah, the marvels of technology. Before we had Facebook most busy folk probably didn't play too many games. Honestly, Facebook has succeeded in getting people to play more games, which is fun. And fun is healthy. The only problem is when solo-Facebook-gaming replaces actual physical game time with other people. If you spend more than about ten minutes per day playing a Facebook game you might want to consider throwing your computer out the window. Yes they are fun but once again our "face time" has been destroyed. It takes effort to arrange a board game with friends. Everyone has to show up, together, in the same room. So turn that computer off, grab a 6-pack of IPA and GO MAKE A REAL GAME NIGHT WITH REAL FRIENDS. Bring a deck of cards. Anything! It's really that simple. The internal rewards you will feel from hanging out with some friends will greatly overpower the gains from sitting in front of Facebook.
Sharing Friends
This is perhaps the biggest violation of human existence Facebook has committed. Once upon a time people decided who they introduced their friends to. If an introduction was made, it was done in person. That has been the ONLY way people have been sharing friends for most of human existence. So why do we seem to feel its OK to convert this process into a series of little boxes with no privacy? The whole activity of looking at someone else's block of "friends" is a misleading, insensitive, dismal and unfortunate human condition. You will never get a proper impression of a person by looking at their picture or profile. You will only get the wrong information, distorted by your own mind. Instead, make a resolution to meet 1 REAL person for every VIRTUAL person. Let's get some balance on sharing friends, and some discretion. And for the love of John Wayne, some darn privacy.
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