Ah, Facebook — that ever-present part of our lives that serves to ensure us that we have access to the constantly updated information of what everyone we know is doing at all times. It’s hard to picture life without Facebook these days — it has become so ingrained in our generation’s culture. Who wouldn’t tell you that it is absolutely common practice to almost immediately virtually stalk that cute guy you talked to in class via Facebook? Or comb through an ex’s pictures to see what he or she is up to (and hope that it’s lame)? Or just get lost for some inordinate amount of time scrolling through your news feed catching up on the unimportant facets of everyone’s lives? While it’s nice to be able to see what that girl that you were kind of lunch buddies with for half of third grade is doing with her winter break, it just seems a bit unrealistic that everyone connected to you on Facebook is actually your friend. Do we all really care what the people we went to junior high and high school with are doing now that we’ve finally escaped most of them? This is both the upside and the downfall of our friendliest foe, Facebook.

Facebook has become the go-to form of social communication. Almost all party invites are sent out through it as well as invitations to important events. The element of human contact has been all but lost in the creation of events. Rather than waiting for RSVP notes or calls, you can just check how many of your friends have clicked “attending.” While this saves a ton of time and money, we can’t help but be a bit nostalgic for the rush of excitement that would accompany receiving mail that was sure to hold a beautiful invitation inside. The fanfare isn’t quite the same when you see a notification pop up.

However, these days it seems that there may be a growing realization that virtual life is not all it’s cracked up to be. More and more people are deactivating themselves and reinserting themselves into reality. Maybe people are finally fed up with the constant flow of seemingly useless information that absorbs so much of their time. Or maybe it’s an attempt by some to further their hipster cred by removing themselves from Facebook — before it’s cool. Either way, it’s too soon to tell if maybe the novelty of Facebook and all of the information that it brings are just not as interesting anymore, and we’re making our way back to the old-fashioned ways — you know, texting and tweeting and the like.

Image Source: Dave Rutt under Creative Commons