A question of friends...

In the age of Facebook, or any other online social media, it's easy to amass lists of names of people who consider themselves as "friends". For some reason or other, at one time, you had something in common - maybe a game you played or a forum you frequented. So when that "friend request" came, you didn't think twice about approving it. At least I didn't. On Facebook, I have 302 friends. In real life I don't even think I know 302 people. But on any given day, in my newsfeed, I get notifications from what the most active of those 302 are up to.

Most of time, I read those notifications and move on. Sometimes I'll like them or reply in some way. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue and move on faster because I've found out that there are some real doozies in that 302. As I've said before, the events since the last shooting incident have really changed me in many ways. I think I have always been a very tolerant and open minded person. I believe in the freedom of speech and stand by that right. But my tolerance for those that use that right to spew hatred and intolerance has just simply ceased. This week, on Facebook, I have 302 friends...I used to have 305. For the first time since I started using the internet, which has been a long, long time, I have completely stopped interacting with someone. Three people, in fact. I thought about it for a long time before I "unfriended" them. It seems so silly really. Does it make a difference? It's just the internet. That's a phrase I have used on other people before when they've gotten upset about something on Facebook. It's just the internet. And who are these people to me, really? More than likely I would never, ever meet them in real life and my opinion of their beliefs did not matter a diddly squat to them so would it even matter?

Yet....

Their beliefs were racist. And homophobic. And hurtful. And I have dear and loving people in my life of various ethnic backgrounds and various sexual identities and I love them in REAL LIFE and I would no more let anyone hurt them than I would hurt them myself. So, allowing shit like that to pop up in my newsfeed and not do anything about it seemed complacent and almost as though I was an accomplice in their miserable dogma. I tried to reason with them. I tried to explain. But there was no use so, in the end, I did it. Click. They were gone.

It felt strangely good.

Interesting Ways Farmville has affected my life, Part 2...

Great. Farmville now has given me the option of having two...yes, count 'em, TWO farms. One in Farmville, USA and the other in Farmville, UK. So, you know what that means? I can obsess about getting home in time to harvest my crops before they wither in two countries! I can worry that my fruit trees will ripen while I'm away in two countries! I can wax lyrically about all the great sheep I've bred and cows I have in my dairy farms in TWO FREAKIN' COUNTRIES!!


Seriously, I am a woman possessed. As on line games go, Farmville US and UK are seemingly harmless, time wasters but once they hook you, YOU ARE IN! You will not be the same person anymore. You will make up other Facebook pages with aliases just so you can "friend" yourself to get more stuff for your farms. It's like internet heroin, I swear! Mindless, numbing and addictive. It's better than heroin. There aren't those nasty needles to contend with!

I wonder if there is a 12 step program for this....

My facebook addiction...

I need a twelve step program for facebook users. Hello, my name is Mary and I am a facebook addict. I'm not quite sure when this all crept up on me. It started innocently enough with me logging on once in a while, leaving a quick status update and the occasional message for a friend or two. Then one night I thought what could it hurt to take a quiz or two or ten. And how much damage could happen if I just tried out some of these games. Farmtown? Cute... Farmville...more cute...Mafia Wars...forgetaboutit!! I became hopelessly hooked. Anyone who is on my friends list can easily see by my constant feed of game updates that I am an addict. I find myself wondering if my energy has replenished itself or if my sunflower fields have blossomed. I wonder if it's time to work again in Yoville and what else I can buy for my spiffy apartment there. Crap, I live in a nicer place in Yoville than I do in real life!! I eagerly look to my notifications to see which of my friends have updated their status or posted a new "All About Me" quiz. This is an illness. I know it is!

My friends complain that my lost cow announcements from Farmville are crowding up their home pages but as I see I have 26 Farkle chip requests, 6 Vampire wars requests, 8 Sorority Life requests, and at least 15 Farmville requests, I can clearly see I am not alone in my illness. Hell, I don't know if I'm ready to quit. I haven't reached my facebook rock bottom yet I guess. If you're ever in Yoville, look me up, leave a message...or better yet...gift me something nifty for my digs!