Keeping connections?

Ok. This is another post about Facebook. So if you're bored of that topic by now, stop reading. If you want to hear another rambling from me about it, by all means, read on!

So... I know I said this before, but I really think Facebook is great. I love being able to keep in contact with friends from high school and college that I can't see that often anymore. But do I really need to keep some of those connections?

I think I touched on this in my last blog post and I think we also talked about it a bit in class. Friendships used to have a more natural progression before Facebook. You drifted apart for whatever reason and it was okay. You both moved on with your lives. Now you keep these friends on Facebook and are inundated with information about them when you don't even know how comfortable you'd be talking to them in person anymore.

Case in point: Maybe it's just me, but it's hard for me to still be "friends" with my ex-boyfriend on Facebook. We haven't talked in person in over a year, and haven't had any sort of contact (text, Facebook message, etc.) in over six months. But we're still friends on Facebook. So whenever he publishes a status, I see it. Whenever he adds pictures with his new girlfriend, I see it. Whenever I see a mutual friend writing on his wall about the fun thing they just did or plans they are making, I see it. Before, stalking involved pulling mutual friends for any and all information, driving by their house at night, or possibly calling and hanging up as soon as they answer. Now we can just hop on Facebook and this information is shoved in our faces.

I honestly think one reason it was so hard to get over him was because of the technology and media we have at our fingertips. If we had dated 20 years ago, I think the healing process would've been significantly shorter, since I wouldn't have known every new thing he was up to without me. It still would've hurt, but it would've been okay. However, with Facebook, I felt like an old wound was being reopened whenever I checked my account. I'm fine now, but I doubt this was ever a problem for our parents...