The Facebook Fast

      

       Lately I have been thinking quite a bit about friendship. There are several different types of friends. Work friends whom you just see in and around the workplace. Satellite friends whom you see and interact with at common social functions like church or friends houses with whom you are friendly but may not know very well. Then there is the rarest and most important type of friend, a friend of the heart. This is someone you can tell anything to, someone who you might not need to tell everything to, who just knows by looking at your face. This is the friend who you might see after an absence of several years and it is like no time has past. These friends are few and far between. I can honestly say that I have only had a couple of this type of friend in my whole life. I meet them in junior high and we are still friends. However they are off living their lives and me mine so we do not see or talk very much any more but I still count them amongst my dearest friends.
           Recently a new type of friend is common, the "Facebook Friend" this might be old friends from high school or new friends from church but this is a friend that you primarily communicate with electronically. You text, post on each others walls, and comment on their latest trip to blah blah blah. This is all nice and well and good but I can't help but feel that it is a tad superficial. Where is the discussion, the depth? Its like you are being fed the friendship equivalent of twinkies when what you are really craving and need to be sustained are friendship meat and potatoes. Texting, emails, facebook, myspace, these are all modern conveniences but are they really good for us? They offer us a pleasant diversion and feeling of relationship but it is all on a surface level. They have redefined how we communicate and interact with one another but at what cost. Several friends of mine will text and facbook each other but will never return a call. I'm am weary of this pseudo-friendship, I crave and need something more.
          So I purpose this, a Facebook fast, when I say Facebook I mean all electronic socializing. Texting has a place if you want to as a quick question, but an entire conversation? No. I'm done. I am removing myself from it all. No Facebook, no texting for one month. I am a realist and I know that these inventions are handy so I am not quitting all together but I am taking a Facebook Fast for one month.

The Rules:

1. No Facebook for personal purposes. I love this blog and Facebook is the only means by which to communicate that I have something new up. So I will continue to post on my Diapering Gourmet page but after this evening nothing on my personal page.
2. No Texting, if you quickly want to let  me know to pick something up from the store or that you need something that is fine, but I will not carry-on an entire conversation. I love all my friends and if you would like to talk, I'd love for you to call me.
3. As some information is much easier obtained via email, I will continue to email.

I am boldly going where we all used to be communication-wise for one month. If you are brave and bold of heart I urge you to join me.