Let's Be Friends

Friendship. Withstanding my family, my friends are the single most important thing in my life. No job, no amount of cash in bank, no luxury vehicle will do what friends do. Friends are the people who will crack a joke when you are stressed out and really need to laugh, they are the ones who will take care of you when you're sick, and have a few drinks whenever you want. Friends know you're story. One of my favorite things about friends is that I get to pick them. These people are not forced upon you. Nope, you get to choose who you want to surround yourself with. What I have learned in my 22 years is that these are some of the most important life-choices you will ever, ever make. Your friends are an extension of yourself, and I think you can tell alot by a person based on two things. 1) How clean their shoes are, and 2) Who their friends are. Take my word.

Now that you know how much I love my friends, let's talk about social networking. Did you know that "de-friend" was put into Webster's Dictionary this year? Unfamiliar with that term? Let me use it in a sentence..."This girl I know totally a madeout with my ex-boyfriend, so I de-friended her on Facebook." Zing! Way to go fictional girl, you really socked it to her.

Social networking Web sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Bebo (the Euro version of Facebook), LinkedIn, etc. have taken over. These sites are virtual playgrounds for everyone from the very young to my grandmother (who does, indeed, have a Facebook AND is my Facebook friend). In this day and age, instead of throwing bark chips at the boy or girl you like, you can "Poke" them. Instead of sending out real invites to your next birthday party, just create a Facebook event, it's way more efficient. I think that social networking is a great resource to get in touch with old friends or just to write on your BFF's wall.

I know the argument that our new electronic lifestyle is actually pushing us farther apart because we are losing the face-to-face, one-on-one connection. But I don't buy it. As long as you aren't obsessed with checking your news feed every hour and you're a normal human being, I would just like to go on record saying that Facebook has kept me more in touch with alot of people I would probably never spoken to again after high school, and I see my friends all the time in person. Clearly, an email is not the same as a real conversation, and a "poke" is not the same as a...well, you get what I'm saying.

I know for a fact that even though the TV show "Friends" has been off the air for about six years, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey and Ross would all be facebookers, and their friendship would be better for it. So thanks, Mark Zuckerberg!!