RE: Facebook -- I can't say it better than the Pope

I've had at least four invitations to "friend" someone on Facebook. The problem is, I don't belong to Facebook (much to the chagrin of my new business manager).

As I see it, the first group I would have to join on Facebook is "Moms whose kids won't friend them on Facebook." At least, my daughters have recommended that I'd find kindred spirits there.

I realize that Facebook and all social media are a. not inherently evil, despite my suspicions to the contrary; b. useful to some extent; and c. here to stay.

Pope Benedict recently spoke out about the potential benefits of social media as an instrument of communication and connection among peoples. Heck, the Pope even has his own YouTube channel. This pontiff is tech savvy, to be sure.

My concern is the likelihood of preoccupation with virtual friendships to the exclusion of real life interaction with real, live pals. Pope Benedict warned about this aspect of social media, and much more eloquently than I ever could, so here it is:

"The concept of friendship has enjoyed a renewed prominence in the vocabulary of the new digital social networks that have emerged in the last few years. The concept is one of the noblest achievements of human culture. It is in and through our friendships that we grow and develop as humans. For this reason, true friendship has always been seen as one of the greatest goods any human person can experience. We should be careful, therefore, never to trivialize the concept or the experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development."

In other words, some social media is good, but too much is not healthy.

Still, I'm not sure I'm ready to launch myself on Facebook. It's all I can do to keep this site and blog going, much less remember to read my "wall" every day. Heck, I joined twitter a while back but haven't updated my status since I signed on. I can't figure out why I should!

Besides, I still think being on Facebook is like wandering through a high school party in my basement. I go down every so often to make sure things are OK, but if I were to sit on the couch and join the fun, everyone would think I was a creeper. So for now, Facebook will remain the domain of my teenage daughters, and soon (if he keeps his grades up), their teen brother.

As for me, I’m going to try and attend to my friends the old fashioned way: Over lunch.