Facebook...an addiction?

A few months ago, I received an email invitation to join Facebook. The "social utility" I first heard off through a high-school classmate-who warned me, "Cuando entras ahi, estas todo el dia...!(When you go in it, you are in it all day!)", now had a group of my high-school alumni. I entered and signed up, but never took a second look at what went on in it, specially after my friend's warning.

However, 2 weeks ago, one of my cousins from Puerto Rico sent me an email, indicating that she had created a Facebook account in which I would be able to see pictures of her 1-year-old twins, and she was inviting me to join as well so I could get in and see them.

So, I "resurrected" my forgotten account...and that was it: I had succumbed to the "Facebook Fever", as I would like to call it. Just in a few days, I had found and connected with a lot of people. Some of them from around here, but for the most part, former classmates from high-school and college, friends from the neighborhoods I grew up in, or party friends from nearby towns and acquaintances from my regular hang-outs, and a few relatives. Some of this people I had not seen in about 20 years, if not longer. Some remembered me immediately; others, I had to jog their memory.

A Milwaukee friend said to me yesterday that she would not be interested in Facebook, as she keeps in touch with the important people in her life, and she is not really that interested in connecting with people from the past or high-school. Which is fine...I still have the prerogative of choosing who to connect with. I can remove people from my list if I want to. And they can remove me as well. But for someone like me, who the only family in Wisconsin consist of my immediate family unit-spouse and children-this is somewhat of a great thing.

I even joined a Facebook group named, "Me van a botar del trabajo por estar juquea con Facebook (I will get fired from my job because I am hooked with Facebook)". Sounds funny, and I hope it does not really happen...I know that, eventually, the novelty will wane, and I will visit the site less often. I have been able to find friends with whom I simply lost contact with. Some people's reception has been warm, while others are like, oh well, one more person...who cares? But for now, I am enjoying this opening of my world...this welcoming of ideas, of playing in a virtual playground, not much different than when my daughter goes to Webkinz or ClubPenquin...and I will play until a new "playground" comes along...