The Crazy World of Facebook

A new phenomenon has swept college campuses all over America. Now before you start getting worried, no I'm not talking about mono or chlamydia (hmm, maybe you should get tested just in case). I'm talking about the ever present facebook.com. If you have been sheltered from the internet (which if you are means you prolly wont ever read this) facebook.com is a site where you set up a profile based on what college or university you go to, and then can connect your profile to other people you know who have profiles.
Now facebook is by no means the first website of this type. There are the ever present dating sites, by which certain professors have met their wives, and the now somewhat defunct friendster which was essentially the same thing, but without the university affilliation. I must admit I am even a member of one called connexion, but it is primarily just for the gay folk so it certainly cant claim the popularity of facebook.
So several months ago a friend of mine talked me into making a facebook profile. You see, in order to look at any of the other profiles on there, you have to make one yourself (its a tricky way to get lots of members), and there was a guy he wanted me to check out. So I made one, and must admit I was a little surprised it used my school e-mail address to make sure I was really a student (how did they get those records?). But in making my profile I made a mistake. And at the same time I very wisely left a couple things out.
You see, though everyone here knows Im gay and my family knows, I never really told most people back home. So I left my sexual preference out of the profile mainly on a whim. And because I'm lazy I left off a picture (so no hot dates for me off there). But then I made the mistake of listing my high school. Oh to go back and stop myself from doing that. No sooner had I made this profile then people I went to high school with started requesting to add me as a friend. These are people I havent seen or spoken to in the past 5 years, and all of a sudden they are my friend again? What was really odd was just last week, this guy I played football with in high school that is at Iowa State added me as a friend. But we were never friends. We knew each other, and his dad was that horribly obnoxious one who came to every practice and always knew what you did wrong. As if coaches weren't bad enough, we had to listen to his dad, who in my opinion needed to get a day job. So imagine my surprise when I get an e-mail letting me know this guy, who I have never been friends with, suddenly has requested to be my friend on facebook.
If I were a meaner person I would have said no. Instead I have decided that facebook friends aren't the real kind. Especially since neither that guy or the others from high school have sent me notes saying hey or anything. They just added me as friends and then forgot about me. Talk about abuse of the word "friend." I have also run across profiles that have hundreds of friends. OK, I dont care how popular you are, no one has hundreds of friends. Acquaintances maybe, but not friends.
The one bonus I will give facebook though, is that it has numerous little "groups" you can join. Now they don't actually do anything that I know of, but many serve a way to express an opinion about something. So I, for instance joined the Iowans Against Popped Collars group because they are the bain of my existence.
So beware "friends" on facebook. It doesnt necessarily mean someone likes you, only that they know you. Maybe they should change the title to "People I met once but prolly couldnt remember their name if it wasnt at the top of their profile."