The peer pressure is mounting. I’m weakening, losing my resolve. I mean, I don’t want to get left behind… stuck outside the circle… or do I?
I have resisted the Facebook phenomenon because, for me, the reasons for joining are not all that compelling. It’s fun! Okay. I’m always up for a good time. But I’d rather go out for margaritas or a walk on the beach than sit in front of the computer. It reconnects you with people from your past. That intrigues me. (I do occasionally wonder what happened to that guy I made out with in eighth grade.) But I’m fine with the memories and the friends I have today. It’s the main way people are connecting now; it’s replacing email; if you don’t join in, you’re out of the loop. That’s where I start to waver.
I have always waited and watched before jumping on the latest technology (or other) craze. I was the last to get an answering machine, and only when three frustrated friends chipped in and forced one on me for my birthday. Remember when Call Waiting was new? My husband renamed it “Call Rude” and we cancelled after trying it for a short time. When at last I gave my daughters permission to set up My Space pages, not wanting them to feel like social oddballs, I made them swear on their Converse All Stars that they would be responsible with their postings. My kids were late in the game getting cell phones and we added texting long after the majority were bumping into trees and parked cars as they walked home from school, texting all the way.
So here I am again.
