By Sarah Carlson, Arts Editor
I Am The Enemy
Wayne Barnard is my friend.
I asked him to be my friend on Facebook.com, and he cofirmed the request. Apparently, we have several things in common, such as our love for music and a few of the same movies. If I am ever stuck in an elevator with the dean of Campus Life, I can ask him what his favorite song on Coldplay’s X&Y is, how long he’s been a Dave fan and which one of the Harry Potter books he favors most.
The Facebook, for the adults out there, is an online directory that connects students through various social networks, whether they are labeled as friends or if they join the same group, which can be for a social club, student group or special interest group. Once ACU was added to the real Facebook network and we moved pass our poser sites, College Facebook and ACU Facebook, students went crazy.
Back to Wayne. He has more friends than me. He’s only been a member since mid-August and I’ve been addicted since mid-April, but he’s got about 75 more friends than me, not counting the friends I have at other schools. I guess his exposure is greater than mine. Or, maybe people just want to say they are his friend and have therefore asked him.
Why Facebook is so time consuming, I’m not sure, but once you start cruising through the various groups to join and reading people’s profiles, hours can pass before you come up for air. The groups “Texas should conquer the rest of the United States and name them Texas #2-50,” “Keep those collars down” in reference to notorious collar-poppers and “I’ve died on the Oregon Trail” are my current favorite groups I’m a member of.
Maybe it’s our need for acceptance and wanting to belong to a unique group that draws us to the Web site, or seeing who has the same interests you do. But one thing is certain: Facebook connects people, and it’s probably one of the best inventions on the Internet lately.
People I haven’t seen, much less thought about, in years, going back to the early days of high school, have sent me messages and requested to be my friend. I know of friends who have had people contact them who used to know them in elementary school. We don’t really talk, maybe send a few messages back and forth. But for the most part, we’ve just acknowledged that we’re “friends.” I keep acruing these friends for reasons I’m not entirely sure of, but it’s still nice to see where people are nowadays and what they’re doing.
While I may not have 605 friends as one of my friends does, I’ll keep feeding my addiction of acceptance and the need to fulfill my procrastination quota for the day with Facebook.
