As compared to my peers, I was actually slow when it came to Facebook addiction - I was still living in Friendster world when everyone started stalking on FB. In fact, I was trying hard not to get into it because I saw how it killed the GPAs of so many people. A lot of my course mates were struggling to keep their eyes open because they were too busy posting comments on their friends' photos or status the night before. I used to think 'what a waste of time and brain cells' but it was not long till my friends forced me to open an account.
The addiction did not kick start right after I opened an account on Facebook because the found the whole fad to be extremely overwhelming. The initial phase was just like a culture shock because it is astonishing to see what pictures people put on FB. Of the pictures that I saw, photos of drunk people were the most incredulous ones - why the hell will anyone want to share explicit details and hit-by-hit account of their disgraceful nights? I was in the events department in Council then, and we held the UB pageant at Zouk. Tonnes of pictures I saw were of people partying away and some were of drunks who were carried out by the bouncers. The comments below the pictures teased the drunk guy's lack of grace but the true lack of grace was the one who posted that picture. And the drunk guy was stupid to not untag himself. So my first experience with FB was plain revulsion because FB = NARCISSISM. If you know the story of Narcissus, you will remember how he was so preoccupied with the reflection of himself in the lake that he died of starvation. These FB people will die of attention.
After the first phase of revulsion, I decided to stay away to keep my eyes clean. The avoidance phase was not as hard as it seems because I heard tonnes of mean things that people say on facebook, like the news of a particular girl who killed herself because of the cruel comments on her social networking page. I do not want my real life to be affected by the idiocy that occurs on a virtual world that will end once I delete the account. For the love of all things good, there is so much in the real world that we are missing out on because we are sticking our eyes on the lives of someone through FB. Plus there are just too many random facts about people on FB, it is TMI (too much information). If you're only a very very distant relative that I only meet once a year, I don't want to know that you have your belly button pierced and that it is a secret from your parents. I understand that FB is to keep people connected but after looking at most of the stuff that people post, I want to ask them "And your point is???" For me it was such a waste of our lives - we are created for bigger things. Like capturing all the terrorists. Or finding the cure to whatever disease there is. Avoidance allowed me to keep my time to myself and it helped to preserve my sanity.
Then came the phase of reviewing my option because my friends were all going to the UB campus at Buffalo last year. It turned out that the easiest way to find out more about their lives over in America was through the photos they posted on FB like the weather, the school, the dormitories. They also posted trips they took to Nigara Falls and various fun spots. Events and festivals like Halloween and Christmas seem more vibrant over there because their pictures looked so cheery. I was envious but at least, I could partake in their joy through FB.
The forth phase that I am going through now is regularity. Don't get me wrong, I still hate FB. However, I shall not deny that it proves to be an excellent platform to catch up with my friends. Quite a number of their features irk me and I wish that with time to come, this FB craze will die so that I won't have to be obliged to stay on it.
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