A lot of people I know have closed their facebook profiles. I sometimes think I should do the same. Facebook can be unbelievable sucker of my time. I get on to just read a message and half an hour later I still haven’t read the message but have managed to read a whole lot of status updates which mostly say nothing. I also struggle sometimes with the fact I don’t feel I am being totally real on Facebook. I don’t put a lot on facebook and what I do post I am very careful to only show a certain version of my life, the good parts I suppose. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in life there are many different social situations and we share different parts of ourselves depending on what is appropriate and I don’t feel facebook is a safe or appropriate place for sharing intimately about my struggles but this means a fairly shallow version of me is presented on facebook. Occasionally, I also do a little bit of facebook stalking. Facebook stalking is not very good for my soul. It feels a little bit like gossiping. I guess people choose to put it up there but I still feel like I may be intruding or something. It can also bring out the little green monster in me. I know most people are doing what I am doing and only putting up the good aspects of their life but sometimes I feel like some of my friends spend all their lives at really fun parties or on lovely beach holidays and always look so perfect too.

In saying all that I do value facebook for lots of reasons too. I have lots of friends and family in other countries who I really like been able to stay in touch with. It may not be a deep intimate relationship but that’s okay sometimes too. Having acquintances isn’t a bad thing. I like knowing if someone I went to school with or volunteered with had a baby or got married and that I can wish them well. I like knowing that if I ever did end up in Canada or the US or Europe I could easily get in touch with them and catch up. I like been able to wish people a Happy Birthday whose birthdays I would never remember without facebook. And it’s not that I don’t care about them it’s that who can remember all those birthdays. I like that I can share photos of Nina and our life here in Chulu with friends who don’t read my blog. I like having a little more contact with my cousins and aunts and uncles. So at this stage I will stick with my facebook. In fact I may get on now. But no stalking.