Facebook - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Like with many things technology-wise, I'm a late adopter.  I've not the type who needs to have the latest and greatest computer, phone, app or electronic gadget.  Nor do I feel that I have to be on top of every hot trend on the internet.  Twitter...well maybe I'll get to it someday.  God knows I avoided Facebook for what seemed like forever, but now I'm quite happy that I lowered my luddite level and signed up.

The Good: 
Reconnecting
Finding people that I haven't spoken to in years...or rather being found by them.  For example, a wonderful Italian girl who spent a year with us as an au pair some 20 years ago, found me through Facebook.  Another example was reconnecting with a Italian/German cousin, another person that I had lost touch with some 15 years ago, who is now living in England.
And, the list of old friends and associates that I've reconnected with goes on.

Reconnaissance
A young friend of mine was madly in love with a man who was temporarily living in California for some special training for his job.  Of course she thought that this man was the love of her life, but there was always something sketchy about him and his schedule.  So, after months of mad crazy passion, she did  a little facebooking and found out that the man had a wife and children living in the DC area.
Ah, the wonders of Facebook.

Revolution:
Iran, Egypt and elsewhere. 
Facebook has been tremendous in bringing real time information to these places.

The Bad:
Too Much Information
Like with many things in life, Facebook has a dual sided nature.  Actually, it's not really Facebook, it's the people who use it.  How many idiots post information that is downright embarrassing, to themselves or to their families but they are too immature to recognize the damage that they are doing.  I won't go into details but some of the posts that I've read show such an unbelievable ignorance and arrogance.  If you're bragging on your Facebook page about staying out for nights in a row getting totally wasted, don't expect anyone who has read your post to recommend you for a job.
Just saying.

The Ugly: 
Obsession
How many people have such an obsession or addiction to Facebook, like others might have with WOW, that they can't function in real life.
Mom on Facebook sentenced in son's drowning death
How could a mother leave a 13 month old child unattended in the bath while she screwed around on Facebook.  I hope that she spends many years of quality time behind bars without any access to the internet.


For me the good certainly outweighs the bad when it comes to Facebook.
What do you think about Facebook?
Do you still love it or do you have Facebook burnout?