I hate Facebook basically for the same reason I love it
For the same reason I shove its icon to the front of my phone’s home screen
It’s an easily accessible platform to express what happens behind the scene
Yet it can easily create a contestable thorn in the side of what you actually mean
But it’s the invisible line it creates to make livable the distance between the unseen
This keen idea is what brought me near
And also what brought me here to these words
Way before a bird’s chirps and tweets came in 140 characters or less
Before a gram was measured in filters and registered 11 likes to be a success
I was blessed to find a collective book of familiar faces
I was also simultaneously cursed to find a book of stress
Because when accessibility became a luxury it also became a normalcy
Normally you meet up
Normally you catch up
Normally you then anticipate the next date to connect
Normally connections are severed to make reestablishing feel real special
But thanks to Facebook we’ve taken the term “friend” to a whole new level
One where we wrestle with the notion to share
Because with hundreds of friends at least several will care
Right?
I mean there couldn’t possibly be any repercussions from constantly being plugged in
To harness the discussions should obviously never leave a feeling of chagrin
However, within that constant link is a constant occupancy
Imagine if you will being in a room filled with dozens of family and friends constantly
Every day sharing every detail of their life
Constantly
And trust me when I say sharing is not a part I ever have or ever will find bad
It’s the obligation to acknowledge the constant conversation you never previously had
Because that constant connection is a constant conversation
One where someone lobs an update in the air
Wondering which friend of family member will acknowledge it out of the park
But remember that there are others that choose to hide in the dark
What about those who turn their head and refuse to remark?
It’s the same as occupying the same room yet pretending not to notice each other
Or looking at someone talking to you but choosing your eyes to close or cover
And that’s just rude
No one wants to be rude to someone they care about
A care generates a share
A share it motivated because someone cannot be there
And it is because distance has always been an obstacle that I love it
But
It’s because of the over exposure that there is a desire for occasional closure
To unplug the cord
To go back to a time when presence was a high value we would still afford each other
I grew up in the country where you forcibly had to make distance your friend
So when I found Facebook I was elated
But killing the distance to the point I can never miss you
Well that’s why I hate it
4/9/2015