Saturday 9 June 2007

Facebook Phenomena and Overconnected

What a strange thing Facebook is. I can't decide if I like it or not yet, and an unforseen, and really bizarre situation has arisen: members of my adoptive family, family through marriage and birth family, are able to connect and interract. I'm not sure I can cope!

I don't suppose this connectivity should be a problem but in my head I like to keep the two families in separate boxes (birth and adoptive that is). One of the weirdest experiences of my life was when my birth grandmother and two aunties came to visit me from Canada. We were all in my mum's house and I just kept looking from face to face across the table. I have never felt so uncomfortable and yet I'm not sure whose discomfort I was feeling; my own or what I imagined they should feel. I say 'should' because in the end, everyone looked perfectly at ease apart from me!

Facebook is quite different from Myspace in many ways. There's a wall function that allows you to comment on people's pages (like Myspace) but you can also comment back on your own wall, or have 'wall-to-wall' conversations, which is rather neat. A bit like a public msn messenger... hmmm.

Weird. All these forums for keeping in touch with people you already know. Are we past picking up the phone? A friend of mine recently said we must catch up soon, only she posted it on Myspace rather than sending me a text, or calling me up. Perhaps this is the future. Is it less personal, or just giving us access to loads more ways of connecting with people? And what about when we have on-line conversations with people, through blogs or Myspace, or Facebook, that we then never talk about when we meet up face to face?! Now that really is weird!

On the funnier side of things, Facebook asks you how you know people and then emails them for confirmation, and so is currently emailing my husband with a request that he confirm I am indeed his wife - he may well refuse but knows if he does I won't cook dinner or wash his socks for a month! I only have 11 friends! I need him!

13 comments:

Nichola said...

*waits to see if hubby acknowledges your presence*

:D

hesitant scribe said...

*still waiting - not holding breath!* ;-)

Jon M said...

Struck a chord there, I 'talk' to my brother more by e-mail than anything else and he is only 5 miles down the road from me. i recently remedied this by suggesting a weekly trip to the local pub quiz and its much better although e-mails still fly too! I wonder if the long lost tribe of Hull Mayhews lurk in Facebook?

hesitant scribe said...

jon - the Hull Mayhews eh! My Mayhews are Vancouver BC Mayhews so just as well they are online I guess... but will be interested to see who else 'turns up'!

I did finally manage to catch up with myspace friend, in person, which was lovely...

CL Taylor said...

A friend invited me to join facebook last week and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with it either! I only have five friends to your eleven. You win!

hesitant scribe said...

It's just another distraction from writing I reckon!!!

Jon M said...

writing! crap! yes that was what I was going to do...

hesitant scribe said...

Disastrous isn't it! By the time I check my mail and deal with myspace, urbis, blogspot, and now facebook, half the morning has gone! Still, prevents the "writing in isolation" stuff I suppose... prevents the writing full stop some might say, ha ha!

BTW have you read Caroline's book yet? Tis really very very good!

hesitant scribe said...

AND I just got another invite from BEBO, which looks like another facebook thing. I've had to ignore it. I can't possibly join another thing that lets you see how many 'friends' you have when I could just look through my filofax (yes I still have one of those!).

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Interesting article about this here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2101717,00.html. Blogging and email are more than enough for me, other than that, well, call me old-fashioned but I like meeting people in real life. (And I have a filofax too!)

hesitant scribe said...

Zinnia - I really enjoyed that article!

I just haven't got the time for it I'm afraid! The blog and email are enough for me too!

Filofaxes - yes - too yummy. I'm a stationary freak I'm afraid. My new filofax zips up and has extra wide rings so I can fit extra crap in it! And it's in scrumptious black leather. It doesn't leave the house very often though!

Anonymous said...

Well it's your myspace friend here!
Tee hee hee! I only wrote it on there that 'we must catch up soon' as I was sat in front of the PC at the time!!!
Anyway, here's a new one....I've just been invited to join 'hoverspot' which looks like another 'see how many friends you've got' type thingy.
Well myspace is enough for me thanks!
Must be off to learn some Spainish now...

Adios amigo

hesitant scribe said...

Chilli - Oh good lord - too much!!!