Thou doth ‘friend’ too much

HAVE we become too wired, too connected, too "friended", for our own collective good? I wonder.

I was casually perusing Wired.com the other day and clicked on a story. As I scanned the text, my eye caught an unexpected but familiar face. There, on the right sidebar, sat the thumbnail visage of a real life friend. His image was among ten in one of those omnipresent “Wired on Facebook” widgets. Of course, my friend’s photo was associated with the article because he had recently “liked” it. Still, it was kinda creepy.

It amazes me that Facebook and its facilitators think I want “friends” constantly shadowing me with their “likes,” like a puppy trailing its master through the house. When did following the path less trodden become less possible? For that matter, when did being out of contact with people (sometimes for a whole weekend!) become unnatural? Facebook seems to believe it is unthinkable. Years ago, I wondered what would become of those kids who were relentlessly tethered to hyper-obsessive parents via cell phone, photographed (or video-taped) incessantly, chauffeured literally everywhere and told “I love you” in virtually every conversation. Now we know. They created Facebook and the pop culture that feeds it. In effect, “friends” and the constant need for affirmation (via the “like” button) have replaced mommy, daddy and the umbilical cord. I imagine Dr. Sigmund Freud would have had a field day with this.

Anyway, I hope that we don’t forget that, occasionally, it is healthy to unplug and wander the high lonesome alone, walk along a windy beach, contemplate a starry night and experience all the other recuperative places in the real world where silence is still golden.