"Not now dear, I'm Facebooking."

It has its own vocabulary (liking, friending, blocking...), complete with acronyms (FB, ty, lol...to name a few;   ROTFLMAO:  I love that one.).  I feel like an insider using it.

(Image via http://www.facebook.com/)

I resisted using it.  I thought, what could I possibly have to say?  Finally, I decided to use it for professional reasons--a place employers could look at my quasi resume.  I set up my page, listed my education and work history on the info tab, and started looking around on the site.

I found a few people I knew and added them as "friends".

I found games.  OMG!  I found Mafia Wars!  I added several dozen strangers as friends (you can't advance in those games without lots of mates).  I started paying attention to the posts on "the Wall" (where all the messages from friends get posted).  I started responding to posted messages.  I started posting a few updates of my own.  I became more informed on and connected to the lives of my friends and family than I had been before.  Some of my family and friends live in the same small town as I do, yet we chatted more on Facebook than we had on the phone or in person.  I met "friends of friends" and added them as friends if we had something in common.

I learned about subjects, issues, and resources I hadn't known about before as I paid attention to the things my "friends" posted, liked, reposted (you can "share" another person's post by posting it in your message stream)... I found "pages" (professional or organizational Facebook pages) on sites and subjects that interested me personally and professionally.  I joined national and international dialogues on issues and topics I felt important.  I posted questions for advice whenever I had something big to decide (if it wasn't too personal).

I realized I was addicted when I noticed I have to check my Facebook page first thing every morning, last thing every night, and several times in between.   I use checking Facebook as a reward for doing so much homework or writing so many words (or for writing for certain lengths of time)...Yes, Facebook is a vice.  Is it good or bad?  Maybe it's both.  Sometimes I Facebook when I really need to be doing something else.  Then it's a bad vice.

Recently a Facebook "friend" of mine (someone I have never met face-to-face) made the following post:  "How do you tell your 9-year old that her mother isn't coming home from the hospital?" He was telling us his wife had finally died.  I and several others expressed our condolences and support.  What struck me was his need to share with us, with his Facebook community--to connect with people he had only connected with online.  Clearly, social networking allows for an emotional connection that transcends the boundaries of face-to-face relationships.  If using Facebook this way is a vice, it is a good vice.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I need to go check my Facebook page.