The internet is a wonderful thing except when it isn’t. I am not a big fan of Facebook but out of necessity I have an account. Well, I actually have 2 accounts but only because I was locked out of one and in a fit of pique I created an alternate account. But that’s another story for another time. Back to the existence of Facebook and why I have one – it is solely to keep tabs on my mother and sisters and the extended family (Sparky’s and mine). Several years ago, more like 15, I tried to find some people who had been important to me in high school and college. I searched and low and behold I located several. It was odd to see the different trajectories their lives took. I attempted to connect but it went nowhere. There had been one friend in particular that I wanted to catch-up with. After a few brief messages she disappeared from FB. As in vanished – her account was deleted. She didn’t show up in searches. We had been very close in college and for several years afterward. In fact the last time I saw her in person was at my wedding. After that we exchanged Christmas cards and birthday cards until one Christmas. That year her card was returned as “Addressee Unknown”.
Guess what? All of a sudden I got a FB friend request – she’s back. It feels different though. That easy communication is gone. I no longer anticipate her next sentence. Time and distance have made us strangers. Her life experience is completely foreign to me. Her disappearance was due to her marriage – one that involved physical and psychological abuse. She is now single and sadly estranged from her children. She is a recovering alcoholic and has only been sober for a year. Although she is my age and should be preparing for retirement, she is not financially secure and will no doubt work for many more years. It seems so sad that the ease of reconnection is not really the kind I was hoping for. I guess what I’m trying to say is that keeping in touch is made easy with the internet but unless you take advantage of it, it is no better than an old fashioned letter. And like the “pen pal” of bygone days, you have to respond to the letters on a regular basis to be able to develop a friendship. I’m much more connected to the people on WordPress and even some former Xangans than with the people I’ve located on FB.
Have you found long lost friends via the internet? Were you able to recover the feeling of comradery??
A Different Perspective 