Faces in the crowd

I have been a facebook user for a few months now. Within this short period of time, I’ve used facebook to rediscover old friends from my first college. My virtual reunion with "Will" came just in time for his wedding. Andy and I hadn’t talked with Will in two years, but a month later we were down in Greensboro, GA to celebrate with him and his new bride.

This experience cemented my infatuation. I like the purported privacy of facebook: people can find my name, but unless I consent to being their “friend,” they can’t access my information. What’s more, I like the little sneaky feeling that I get from checking out other people’s “Walls.”
For example, when I found out Will was getting married, I became friends with his new fiancée. Then I began to snoop. I didn’t have to ask this girl about herself, I could find things out. I read the quotes she had posted. I looked at her profile. From comments posted on her Wall, I found out that another old friend would be at the wedding. Another comment tipped me off that she was studying to be a pediatrician. What really won me over was the picture of her with her Chocolate Lab and three-legged Corgi mix. *Aww.* Instant approval.

But I sense a dark side. I expect that this girl probably snooped me out too, but what would have happened if we actually e-mailed, or *gasp* talked on the phone to get to know each other? There is something rather voyeuristic about the whole thing. I am more in touch than ever, but it’s been a really long time since I've heard most of these people’s voices. Or interacted with them face-to-face. Most of the time, they don't even know when I'm checking them out.

That isn’t all. The funny thing I have discovered from facebook and blogging and other applications of Web 2.0 is that I am a narcissist. OK, maybe that shouldn’t have come as such a big surprise, but all of us out here are talking up storms with the expectation that we are important enough to listen to. Just listen to me. I like the sound of my own voice. I want you to like it too. It’s OK if you peek through my windows. Don’t expect to see me, because I’ll be out looking into yours. It’s a brave new world, people!