Friend: To Be or Not to Be

A friend of mine decided to take a break from Facebook again; she is killing her profile tonight. She inspired me to follow. I won't be deleting though, just not visiting for a while. Facebook is a constant distraction for me. One of the first things I do after my morning routine of preparation is login to Facebook. I could be reviewing material for my classes or catching up on the daily news...or leaving for class a few minutes early to pick up an apple fritter, or spend time talking to someone I run into on campus. Why is Facebook getting the priority? It's not a terrible tool of idleness, but it could be. I like Facebook. How else could I have "connected" with so many people from my past, or that I have met once? I'm not saying that's bad or ridiculous, its just not what I want at the center of my "self." I am connected with 294 people on Facebook. Friends? Some of them. What is a friend? Another of my friends explained it well today, she said that friends are people we want to have around us, we want to see them happy, we don't want to offend or hurt them. I don't want to offend or hurt the "friends" I have on Facebook, but that's not enough to make them friends. They are associates. A select few, relative to the total number, are my friends or blood relatives. I'm not going to go through and delete people. I don't mind if they know what is going on in my life. If I didn't want them to know I wouldn't be posting it. I'm just thinking through type here. I love a lot of people. I have a lot of friends. Some I see everyday and talk to often, others I never see, such as Muffin Man, he lives in another state. Facebook is a convenient way to share things with people who are far away. The problem is when I look to Facebook early in the morning, as soon as I get home from class and last thing before going to bed, along with other times interspersed. I don't spend hours on there, unless I'm chatting with a distance friend, which I think is the reason for the application and a valid use of time. I guess what it comes down to is that Facebook is like great super-hero power, it can be used for good or for evil. I'm going to get away from it for a while. Maybe I'll write some new songs, or read a book, or actually do all of my school work. Maybe I'll be a more involved friend for someone, or save an acre of rainforest. Then again, maybe I'll destroy an acre of rainforest, there's no telling what I'll do. I'm calling myself a revolutionary, so it is about time I start revolutionizing something, best place to start is with myself. This is where I turn off my CRT monitor a la Doogie Howser and the picture fades to credits with that heart monitor beep style theme music playing. Doogie Howser, MD. What a life that kid must've had.