‘Colin has added you as a friend on Facebook’
You last saw Colin when you were twelve years old. From what you can remember,
he was once sent home from school early after stabbing you in the leg with a
compass. Now – fifteen years on – Colin seems ready to make amends. What a
happy coincidence – he still lives nearby, and suggests meeting up for a
drink.
Why does Facebook always succeed in resurrecting those old faces that one has
worked so hard to leave behind? The classroom nerds, the former colleagues,
the drunken lapses in judgement. ‘Pokes’ from strange women who are
invariably either ropey-looking, selling something, or men in real life. In
all likelihood, you are the first person Colin has contacted since his
escape from Belmarsh prison.
I used to think a ‘face book’ referred to the Met’s flipbook of shoplifters’
mug shots. What this latter day bobby’s book and today’s digital dystopia
have in common is their service as evidence of the sorry state of humanity.
At least the former ‘rogues gallery’ would occasionally result in a
conviction. The social crimes of Facebook remain unpunishable.
Facebook defines itself as ‘a social utility that connects you with the people
around you’. This could not be further from the truth. Far from serving as
an umbilical cord of friendship for the socially deprived, Facebook actively
damages interpersonal relationships, harms job prospects, wastes time, and
ultimately turns die-hard users totally reclusive. It leads your girlfriend
to ask questions about your photos, your friends to ask questions about your
girlfriend, and her friends to ask her questions about your friends. You
don’t need this headache, nobody does. Facebook complicates our lives.
Yet prurient voyeurism and wanton exhibitionism keeps us hooked, and so, day
by day, we log on, hungry for more low-grade banter and drunken photo
antics. It is difficult to believe such a squalid distraction was valued at
$15bn as implied by the price paid by Microsoft to acquire a 1.6 per cent
stake last October – easily enough to buy each of Facebook’s members some
real friends.
Facebook is a goldmine of tosh – a monument to mediocrity. Once the preserve
of institutions of higher learning, Facebook now caters to the untutored
masses – anyone with time on their hands and a keyboard beneath them. Not to
overlook the advent of Facebook for Blackberry – further broadening the
scope of Facebook’s perversion of business equipment from desktop to
handheld, enabling Sharon to update her status every five minutes while ‘on
the go’. Sharon is eating. Sharon is at home. Sharon is tired. Adult
websites have long offered a similar service, only Sharon generally finds
more creative things to do, and somehow always seems to enjoy.
Yet for each droning Sharon, for whom Facebook is merely an extension of a
dreary everyday reality, we have a flamboyant Mike, depicting an exaggerated
playboy existence through an endless stream of photo albums which chronicle
the lifestyle he so desperately wants you to believe he enjoys. Mike’s life
seems to resemble one long gap year – beach party one minute, daddy’s boat
the next. Yet anyone with half a brain can discern that this drip-fed
portfolio entitled ‘Even More Great Times’ depicts a weekend several years
ago, probably bankrolled by Mike’s more successful friends who are not on
Facebook who have long since realised that he is a mooch. So if you are
thinking of burgling Mike’s studio while he’s “firing up” the Monaco Grand
Prix, be warned: you are likely to find Mike sitting at his desk in his
pants – uploading.
Sadly the addiction runs wide and deep. Mind-numbing status updates and staged
photo albums are just the beginning: uploading photos of your bloated
sister’s newborn baby for thousands of people to see is overly personal (and
how has the infant consented to this?) and changing your profile picture
every five minutes does not change people’s perception that in real life you
are irritating and have poor personal hygiene.
So seriously is the ‘Relationship Status’ field taken by some users that it is
as if the government validated tax benefits on this basis. Case in point –
my ex girlfriend, who would rather Facebook, than face facts. The
termination of our real-world relationship was just a minor quandary, but
the climb-down from ‘In a Relationship’ to ‘Single’ status on Facebook was
too much for her to bear: within minutes, she had upgraded from your humble
narrator to Carlos Aguilar Lopez, a fabricated Latin sex man, with a profile
picture that bore an uncanny resemblance to a young Plácido Domingo. I am
just happy that things turned out well for her – only last week I learnt
that she and Carlos are now married.
If, unlike me, you have funds to spare and do not consider world hunger or
global warming worthy causes, you can purchase ‘Gifts’ for your friends on
Facebook. Of course these are not real gifts, but rather icons of a cow’s
head, or a pork chop. Happy birthday – here’s a pile of sick from Anonymous.
How thoughtful.
Sadly Facebook’s influence is not confined to the virtual realm and regularly
overspills into the real world – the one where you cannot just ‘remove poke’
and ‘de-tag’ people away. Remember Colin, with whom you have recently become
reacquainted. He stalks the ‘Friends’ Events’ section hungry for a party to
crash, readily capitalising on ‘Friends in Common’ to deliver his social
calendar. He uses Profile information to devastating effect when offline,
with such close attention that he knows more about your friends than you do.
Soon they will be his friends – on Facebook they already are. Welcome to the
information society.
What happened to putting pen to paper to elegantly articulate one’s feelings
towards someone one cared about? Or to the intrigue of getting to know a
person’s common interests as part of a gradual process, not by way of a data
dump? Or to the concept of delivering a personal invitation by word of mouth
or script, rather than a mail-merge? It would appear that such niceties have
been relinquished along with other staples of old-world charm – the Facebook
Revolution signals a whole new era of meaningless interaction. This is
Colin’s world: the world of the Secret Crush and the Superpoke. And Colin
has 2,500 friends.
Well put, I agree with this to a certain point. Face book is good in moderation, but of course some people can't do this. there are positives and negatives.
The best thing you can do (if you still have a facebook (me)) is literally post it on your facebook.. help people wake up a bit..
Nathan Eshraghi, Gold Coast,
Absolutely spot on article. I left Facebook some time ago due to realising the exact same thing. I couldn't have wrote these facts better myself.
Bob, bradford, England
I am a frequent FACEBOOK user. It has allowed me to find and stay in touch with friends that are scattered around the world like myself. My policy is to add friends that are already my friends or people that I have met that I would like to stay in touch with. That's my policy and it works well 4 me!
Manuela, The Hague , Holland
More interesting than how you use Facebook is, how Facebook uses you? Read the small print.
ford, toulouse, france
I do not agree with this article. I use Facebook on a regular basis, but it definitely hasn't affected my social skills or transformed me into a recluse. For the younger generation, Facebook is fantastic and allows many people to better express themselves.
Charles, Lancaster, UK
I deleted my (very active) facebook two months ago. People ask me why I deleted it, as if I've committed some sort of social sin.
To be honest, I'm just not interested in connecting with everyone I've ever met or barely know anymore.
I'm too busy now anyways...
Genevieve, Melbourne,
I was an avid facebook user and recently i realised how unnecessary it was to have a public medium by which to contact others.
what are people trying to prove by writing on other's wall.."i am friends with this person and i want everyone to know?!"...URGH!
photos from last nites new friends is fun
Ronak, Leicester,
glad you wrote this article. I absolutely HATE facebook. I am the only person that I know, that is my age (22) that does not have one. I know many different people that have had serious arguments and reletionship issues that have been due to it. Its all just too 1984 for me - Telescreens anyone?
Richard, Redditch,
Well! as with everything it has a flipside. you can say something positive to everything negative that has been said here... use your tool wisely and you can have a lot of fun ! !
Ian Hammond, Bournemouth,
As a computer-intelligent and 17 year old girl, I should be one of those people you have described. However, I fully agree with your article. Facebook COULD have been a great organization tool - but it has been severly misused and I, unlike all of my friends, hate it too.
Liz, Canada,
I agree with many of the points in this article. However, I think facebook is fine as long as one doesn't over-use it.
Andrew Totten, Stockport,
I am a Facebook user, and I will continue to be for a variety of reasons, but you have raised some fantastic points, some of which had occurred to me before, some of which hadn't.
My main problem with it is that it forces me to be exposed to other people's triviality.
Doddsby, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Tim is....
about to purge my facebook, this article is perfect. I am going to delete, start over, add only close friends that I already know things about, and delete all of my pictures.
Facebook is a self publication system, so that losers (like i fear i may have become) can feel important!
Tim, Yellowknife, Canada
Facebook is just about 2 things....voyeurism and exhibitionism.
Nick, Sea Point, South Africa
All I can say regarding facebook, is that I prefer it to Myspace.
You dont have to bother with HTML or who deserves a place in your 'Top Friends'.
Elliot Norton, Formby, United Kingdom
facebook is gossip column fantasy for people of no interest trying to look like J list celebrities. Really sad.
jane, ascot, england
I'm sorry but while that maybe the case for some users most are quite sensible.
I finished secondary school about a month ago and facebook has been invaluable as both a point of contact for everyone in my year group and for posting pictures and videos of events in relation to my year group.
Marc Knight, Warwick,
Hilarious and totally true article. I deleted my FB profile 2 months ago and now feel totally relieved. I was wasting precious time on FB and all the random friends I'd amassed was ridiculous (mainly through my own actions in adding them!). At first I loved FB, then i grew to hate it. Good riddance!
Gee, Harrogate, UK
Brilliant article, hilariously written. I'll hyperlink this article in my Facebook status.
Fraser, Paris, France
I've only just started properly using Facebook in the last month or so and as far as I'm concerned there is some value on Facebook in terms of organising nights out or having a bit of banter with mates online, but you need to be careful what you reveal about yourself and who you make friends with!
Jon, London,
what a well written, fair and balanced article!
I don't neccesarily disagree with what you are saying, but you ignore all the many positives. Hundreds of writers who can't get published use sites like Facebook to have their writing read, with the additional benefit of being able to share feedback
Irwin, Eastbourne,
Hi I am Colin....just joking
Best article I have read in a fair while, I am sure Facebook never used to be that bad, but as with most things, it loses it shine the more Colin's swamp to it, I know it's elitist but the only advice I can offer is become a Facebook snob, 'click 'ignore' more!'
Ben, Manchester,
Without wanting to generalise too much, having watched my partner use FB and MS, I can come to the conclusion that the majority of users are insipid vacuous attention whores. Mostly narcissists, piling drivel on drivel at an alarming rate.
Darren, Norwich, UK
2500 friendz zomg wot a l3g3nd!!!!!1
Tasha, Newport,
You my writing friend… are a god among men!
You have summed up the Facebook Junkie in little more then 1,000 words.
Not only summarised this socially inept individual, but also pummelled into the earth with bare fists & raw knuckles!
Are you proud of yourself? I am!
Richard, Isle of Wight, UK
Very good article made me laugh. I've just finished uni, and I understand and sympathise with your views. Anyone who doesn't understand the addiction you are describing is too old to fully understand the problems inherent in facebook.
Ironically I want to post this on my facebook as a note.
ND, London,
When I started a new job Facebook provided me with an invaluable means of networking with new colleagues.
It's also a great tool for freelancers to find work and for general business networking. Anyone who hasn't worked out the professional possibilities/value is missing a very big trick.
Emma, Bristol,
This was brilliant!
I am actually one of those mind-numbing addicts! It's terrible... My husband watches tv, whilst i quickly log on and see what pple are upto! So sad I know!!
Damn, I better get back to the real world!!
Tina, New York,
I think the writer of this article needs to lighten up a bit, facebook is brilliant especially if you want to talk to friends who are on the other side of the world allowing you to sidestep using the phone which costs a small fortune
Ryan, Reading,
Personally, I like to communicate differently with different friends. I don't want everyone to know everything! A little privacy used to be acceptable. Now everyone wants to be famous for nothing - & seem to think they're 'special'. Clearly at 28 I'm over the hill - but email IS still just as easy!
Clare, Birmingham, UK
Maybe the article is funny and definatley true of some,but to others it keeps you upto speed with friends in far off places,so as long as you dont take it too seriously,your only form of keeping in touch or to mean your the most popular thing in town you'll be fine,was funny though.
clive gale, southport, merseyside
Haaahahaha what a funny article (although the author probably finds it hard to make friends - so I suggest everyone adds him as a 'friend').
Bojan Timotijevic, London,
I started to write something then couldn't be bothered as needed to go on facebook and update my profile.. :-)
STUART, LEWS, GUESS
I love it - I've got 2 profiles on there purely to play poker!
Vicki, Manchester, UK
I don't see the point of Facebook.
Friends Reunited was enough of a warning: my FR entry gave (married) ex-boyfriend of 20 years ago a pretext to contact me looking for some "extra curricula" activity when his northern football team was playing away with the football team at home in my town. Yuck.
Rachel M, London, UK
i think you seem2be bitter about a past experience on facebook? Yes I can agree with a lot of what you said there are sad people out there who spend too much time on it, updating their status and photo album and yes this gets on my nerves. But they are a minority as most of us have better things2do
luke lambert, Stevenage, england
You had a girlfriend?
Bex, London,
Monroe, California: how ironic that you are actually talking about people.
Regina, London,
I agree with many of the comments here, that Facebook is just another tool that we humans use for communication - particularly useful when friends and family are spread far and wide.
Sounds to me like some people like to put down facebook in an effort to feel superior to others ...
Gillian , Cape Town, South Africa
Excellent article,if facebook is to provide a contact with friends,why not let your friends have your email address,why go through facebook? I joined facebook as an invited friend,its a load of complete and utter drivel,fuelled by people with nothing better to do with thier lives.
steve, dorchester, uk
Facebook accounts are easy enough to 'deactivate' but I had to threaten them with data protection law before they'd actually delete mine - and I'd only set it up to see what it was people were inviting me to join. I'm not against online networking in itself, but that experience seriously put me off.
Josie, London,
love Love LOVE this article.
I dont Facebook (yes, it's a verb now), and I never will.
Phil Tyler, Kinsgbury, London
I have met some really great people in my life and I believe that each and every person im connected on FB has a special place in my heart. Its really about the way one uses FB and I dont think the author of this article has the right to be so condenscending of all users of FB.
Yvonne, Johanesburg, South Africa
CLARIFICATION
To Monroe.
I totally agree with Roosevelt who said:
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.”
this is exact form of Eleanor Roosevelt's dictum.
to my eyes Facebook is an endless list of friends of friends of friends designed to WASTE TIME.
hicham, Rabat, Morocco
People go on facebook when they have nothing better to do.Its really amazing that pressing one button you can either add someone as friend or delete someone from your friends' list. And not to forget random people adding each other as friend and displaying all sorts of personal info on profile!
Aishi, Leeds, UK
The whole thing is a despicable, insincere disgrace and should be banned immediately with their servers being burned to the ground!
The aforementioned Colin doesn't have any real friends. Internet buddies are good for online gaming and that, my pals, is that!
Rich, Nuevo Mercado,
Stop whining and don't go on facebook.
Robert Hudson, Paris, France
Myspace and Facebook are just manifestations of the staggering self-importance and self-absorption that afflict most twenty-somethings one meets today. And if you don't think the piffle posted on these sites can't harm your real world prospects, think again.
Jeffrey, New York,
The applications quickly get old but Facebook is a great tool to contact your friends and organize parties, drinks, etc. So much quicker and CHEAPER than texting/calling 20 people just to check if they'd be free or not, etc. It's a lot more user friendly than usual email providers too IMO.
Tom, London,
Please don't generalise about age groups. I'm 18 and hate facebook. No matter how often my friends try to set up an account for me, I refuse. I am by no means the only person my age who doesn't have it either. I really hope that the 'facebook backlash' continues.
Anna, London,
I have often considered deactivating my account simply because it provides a far too reliable source of time-wasting during University terms! However I know a lot of my friends can't afford to text or phone regularly so I stay on it to keep in touch and to keep track of events.
Kat, London,
Finally!!! someone agrees with my views on the overated and time-consuming and boring existence of facebook!! People need to find time for better things in their lives than to tape into this morphed world of facebook!! It is only a matter of time before the rest of the population realises!
Sunny Athwal, Cyprus, Cyprus
Facebook is boring.
Craig , Liverpool, UK
Facebook is for LAZY people who can't be bothered, or are too thick to come up with something people WANT to read, like what happened to good old fashioned blogging? Quizzes and applications on facebook aren't even fun because they are so retarded!!! Get off facebook, get an education!! get a life!!
Andrea Eli, Manchester,
It has been accurately said:
1) great minds talk about ideas
2) average minds talk about things
3) small minds talk about people.
Is there any debate over which of the three types of people Facebook appeals to? There shouldn't be!
Monroe, California, U.S.A.
What a pompous and condescending article. Yes, all of human life is there - the good and the bad - but exercise a little control over how you use facebook and it can be a useful and - gasp - fun communications tool.
Patrick, Sydney, Australia
A friend of mine recently convinced me to set up a MySpace page. I did and quickly became very bored with the whole thing. I haven't checked it for weeks and don't really care about it. For the same reason I will never have a facebook profile or whatever the next new best thing is in social networki
Phil, Melbourne, Australia
As an ex-pat in China I find Facebook an invaluable tool for staying in touch with my friends and family at home in the UK and here in the vast city of Beijing. Facebook is what you make it - sometimes you just have to weed out the oddballs - there is an 'ignore' facility after all!
Dew, Beijing, China
How old is the writer ? I m 25 yo and live in Mexico City, most of my friends live abroad... this is the best tool to keep intouch... you have to learn to use it, ignore what you don t want and use the privacy settings so not to be annoyed !
JP , Mexico City, Mexico
The potential dangers inherent in Facebook are quite mind boggling. Facebook DOES NOT guarantee security. And, upon joining, you agree to full and binding arbitration under Delaware law. In the end, Facebook could do what it likes with your information. One of the owners is Microsoft.
Marc, Paris, France
I agree 100%. I set up an account using an alias, and was amazed at the drivel on the site. I walked away from it a few days later. I'm astonished that people actually upload their true identities there. They should get off the PC and get a life!
Erica Loftus, Solihull,
As one of the few people who prefer to have real friends rather than virtual, I have stayed clear of facebook. If I haven’t seen you for ten years, it’s for a reason. One of my facebook loving friends recently turned to me and said "nobody under 21 emails anymore" Quite amusing as we are both 30...
Stacey, Melbourne, Australia
If you weren't in School or Uni when facebook arrived then you will probably agree with this article. This means you are too old to be on facebook and don't get it for what it is.
I helped bring it to England and my era 18-25 all love it. We don't get asked to be friends with randoms.
Seb, Leeds,
I started painting and tentatively put them on facebook. Within days I had feedback from friends and a group interested in promoting new painters.
So I get a little jealous seeing my g/f in pics taken by who knows who. But Facebook is what you make it; just a magnification of you.
iain, bedford, uk
Only the eloquence of Briton could make me question my love for the most American online export. Nevertheless, it is not facebook's fault- it is the user's. People- Americans, Britons, even the French- need to use it as tool and not a virtual delusion. It can keep people in contact, even globally.
Max, Washington, DC, United States
The facebook site for the school where my wife teaches reveals very many defamatory comments about teachers, many from ex(adult)students. A 30m fine against ebay for allowing counterfeit products to be sold shows that internet businesses are not immune. Let's hope someone sues Facebook soon.
Graham, Oxford, UK
Been on facebook for about a year. It's OK. I have no problem with it. I really don't recognise the network you're describing here.
Mikey, Bromley, UK
What a load of rubbish. Used sensibly, Facebook is a valuable tool for interacting with selected friends. If you go mad and make "friends" with anybody, you are going to give yourself trouble, whether it's on Facebook or not.
Charles Bockett-Pugh, Sandhurst,
My perception on the article would be that as the world has grown more virtual than real with the advent/intrusion of information communication technology, people have less time to interact socially even in countries like India for example and such networking sites do offer us face saving outlets.
Pritam Sinha, New Delhi, India
Nice column. I have subscribed to Facebook yet can't shake off the distinct sensation that it's absolutely ghastly.
GW, Lisbon,
Facebook is very useful , it identifies all the people I should avoid like the plague .
Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,
I use facebook to have games of scrabble. Thats it.
Ben, Bangor,
I think that facebook is popular because it gives people an audience - everybody wants to be a media star. Are kids getting used to too much attention or getting too little (dunno)
Yvonne, Ely,
facebook is just a website. how you choose to use it, how seriously you decide to take it is up to you.
moaning about other peoples enjoyment and perceived 'abuse' of said site just reaks of a post-grad bitter at the site being opened to the proles. go outside and get on with your life!
Le Tundoir, Liverpool, England!
Ah, the perils of modern life. I'm 26, and held out on facebook for years, preferring myspace. However, I have many (real-life) friends globally and it's an easy, cheap way to keep in contact. Good privacy settings, too. I've found old, lost friends and even met my wonderful boyfriend on myspace!
Natalya, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
There's nothing wrong with facebook - so long as you take it as it's meant to be-as a bit of fun.I have friends all over the country & all over the world who I can keep up to date with a lot easier on facebook(with status updates & photos)than via email/letter/phone.it reminds you they're stil there
carla, rochford,
I can't help noticing that many people are seemingly proud of 'deactivating' their account...something must of attracted them to Facebook in the first place?! Are they now the 'cool' ones?....come on it's a bit of fun..
Joe, Lancaster, UK
Ouch! do I detect resentment?
Facebook is of benefit to the police service and employers checking who to hire methinx. Sure you can set the privacy, but that probably won't deter determined techno-geeks. For us normal people, Facebook is about as useful as TV's big brother is educational. ugh!
christopher Icha, London, England
A lot of this article is true (and well-written!), but if you don't take the site seriously it can be fun. Those who do take it seriously are likely the same sad people who cannot survive normal face-to-face relationships anyway.
Jim, New York City, USA
I have experienced so many of the stories Adam has written about. My girlfriend would question me about every girl I added so eventually I had to leave to stop us arguing. More recently though my friends have added pictures of our nights out, she has started questioning me again, theres no escape.
Jonny, Putney,
great article! which is why after 5 months on it I had to make the decision to close down my profile. Suddenly realised it was making me sick. Never gone back or regretted since!
Michael, London, UK
I think that facebook can be used resposnibly and healthily. There are pros and cons with it just like with everything else. If you are person who moves around a lot from country to country this is a great way of keeping in touch that saves a lot of time.
Lina, Stavanger, Norway
Agree with everything written, but am afraid I don't really see the problem. Maybe I'm from the wrong generation, but emails informing me I've been added as X's friend get the same treatment as those selling viagra. No idea how to use facebook, no interest in it and am not about to learn.
JL, Kuwait,
fascinating. There's a "Facebook , beginners guide" linked to the left of this article from where I'm surfing.
The web is best surfed incognito, but then its quite good fun.
Steve, Dresden,
SFX : hammer strikes nail...
Marc, Liverpool, UK
Thank goodness I stuck to my intuition about the 'sleezy' nature of Facebook and still turning down offers from friends to hook up to it. I may have lost some friends along the way but my integrity and privacy remain intact.
AiFoU, Copenhagen, Denmark
Agreed - I just think it's sad that people waste their lives trawling through this sort of tosh. I concur entirely with the last paragraph but then I'm a 42 y.o.
On a creepier note, you lose touch with certain people for a reason - I wouldn't want to be contactable by some of those!
Fiona, Melbourne, Australia
Bang on Adam but Facebook is but the latest symptom. Reality TV & such programs for the terminally short of attention or imagination. The majority can no longer cope with a sentence of more than 4 words. News has to be limited to 10 seconds snippets. People seem unable to fathom or live in reality.
Jason Pearson, Toronto, Canada
How many of us se the irony of responding to the premise of this article with --- an e posting!
Jason Pearson, Toronto, Canada
Some good points are made, I wonder why people do not understand that posting on the web is eqivalent of writing on the wall. On the other hand, letters & corresponding has always been a part of human interaction & will always be.
Facebook might prove useful, might prove too much of a time waster.
Pam, St.Peterburg,
While I have fallen prey to Facebook and regularly check out friends' new baby photos, I totally agree with the views of the writer. Of course it's fun to find out what actually happned to friends after you left school - but wasn't there a reason you fell out of touch in the first place?
Natasha, Tokyo,
I agree. Were it not for the fact that it makes communicating with those who are real friends very convenient, I would have gotten rid of mine long ago. As a college student, I've wasted way too much valuable time on it. I just 'unfriended' over half my 'friends' and it was extremely satisfying.
Andrea, Atlanta, USA
Some good points there, but as long as you have a bit of self-discipline - I only make friends with people I actually know and have physically met, for example - it's a manageable and very useful tool. I work for a hotel and as a marketing channel it's really useful, especially for promoting events.
Tim, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
That's why I "deactivated" my Facebook account faster than I'd created it. People trying to add me as a friend who I don't like; no thanks.
Dave, Cambden, UK
I use Facebook as a one stop shop for email, news feeds, photos, playlists, stock prices, Google documents etc. I have only two Facebook 'friends' - people overseas with whom I keep in intimate contact using its communication tools. Time saved using Facebook is spent on real relationships.
Dave, San Francisco, CA
You really don't know what you're talking about do you?
Wesley Williams, Milton Keynes, UK
I suggest you learn how to use the privacy settings on facebook - it's very easy to set things up so no employer can tell what's happening - only fools will harm jobs prospects, not technology.
If only I had an enemies list...
bob, bobtown,
Very interesting and true!
However, while it has it's immediate social advantages in terms of communication and meeting new people, particularly at university, this begs the question: Can Facebook be used responsibly and healthily?
David, Paris, France
To all those out there who take pride on the number of 'friends' they have - If you do have such an exciting or busy life, you will not have time for Facebook! I was recently berated for refusing an invite (I refuse all Facebook invites). Needless to say, the individual is no longer an acquaintance!
Jen, TAS, Australia
Boy, do I relate! What a brilliant column.
Caroline , Johannesburg, South Africa