Facebook has changed the way we live

Facebook has undeniably become one of the biggest game changers of this young century.

Even if you do not have an account, ever visited the website or even know what “like” and “share” are all about, your life has still been impacted by the social media. Here at The Sealy News, we use it to tease stories on our website and to share breaking news. It’s also a tool for communicating directly with readers.

As someone who has lived in five different regions of the country and who has family coast to coast, it is a great way to stay connected to those who are important in my life. It has also been a way to make friends with similar interests.

Those who do not understand Facebook call it a time waster and a deterrent to productivity. The paradox is that as much as it connects us with people, it takes time away from those around us. It can be a huge distraction from the here and now.

On the flip side, news and information travels faster and has a broader reach on Facebook than any other media. At the same time, rumors, misinformation and flat-out lies spread just as fast. So do jokes, pictures, words of inspiration, praises and prayers, and so on. Learning how to manage content and discern information can be tricky.

I’ve been able to use Facebook to find and contact sources for stories. Just recently I had breakfast with a friend from high school whom I haven’t seen in nearly 30 years. That reunion would never have happened without Facebook. My daughter, Heather, recently returned from a semester studying abroad in Italy. She kept a diary on Facebook for family and friends to follow. As a parent, it helped tremendously to bridge the time and distance.

One thing you have to keep in mind about Facebook, however, is that you are not the consumer, but the product. Without the pictures and information we share on Facebook, it has nothing. No matter how tight you clamp down on your privacy, Facebook still makes its money by selling information to advertisers. That way they can target their ads to your specific interests.

Of course Facebook isn’t the only one to do this. Most major websites do. Facebook is just the most obvious. While having your information shared like that may seem ominous and disconcerting, it is nothing new. Advertisers and businesses have been doing this long before the Internet came along, you just didn’t know it.

Even if you’re not on the Internet, you need to know and understand that your information is bought and sold every day without your knowledge or consent. It’s been that way all of your life. It will be that way long after you are gone.

Getting back to Facebook, I find that I have a real love-hate relationship with it. I am clearly and willingly addicted to it. I spend much more time on it than I should. It’s a great source of connectedness, information and entertainment. On the other hand, at times I just get tired of all the garbage on it that you have to sort through to get what you want. I don’t like spending so much time there when there is so much more to life to get out and enjoy.

During those times I do get out and experience real life, I find an urge to rush back to my computer and share those events with all my family and friends on Facebook. That is the new norm in today’s world. Whether on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media website, it is the way we connect and communicate with the widest range of people.

For better or for worse, we are wed to social media ’til death do us part or the next big social game-changer comes along.