Social media? or a social life?

About two and a half years ago, my life was forever changed: I got a Facebook. That seems so antiquated to say now, since it seems like everybody and his/her brother, mother, 2nd cousin, great-grandmother of best friend, etc. etc. is on Facebook. Proof: 

You'll have to wait until next July to take that class though. Sorry to disappoint.

When I first got Facebook, it was a fairly handy networking tool: I could see what other people were up to (Stalker News Feed), update what I'm doing/thinking (status updates), and communicate with others (wall posts, messages). My expanding social network makes keeping up with them more difficult, since as a fact of life not everyone that I’m friends with on Facebook is a close friend of mine. This (generally unnecessary) information overload, plus the anti-social nature of "Social" networking sites, is why I think social media is on a decline from an intellectual perspective, even as it is increasing in pure size and scope. However, I think the problem of anti-Social Networking goes to the Internet itself...

You can do almost anything on the Internet. Want to learn how to bake a cake? Check. Buy a car? Check. Sell all of your roommate's possessions? Check (you didn't get that idea from me by the way). Use an interactive calculator that also knows engineering, economics, current weather conditions, and a lot of other stuff? Check. (Disclaimer: that's my homepage.) The issue is that the Internet is a great example of "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing" (see also: ice cream). You could literally spend all day on the Internet reading stuff. So... what happens when the good thing is reduced to the point where it's not longer in the "bad thing" category?

~ Time away from the computer (and thus the internet) is frequently less stressful, I think in part because I don't feel like I have a bunch of stuff pulling at me all at once. This may or may not be related to the fact that I leave my e-mail open almost 24/7 when I'm on my computer.

~ Less computer = more productivity. Generally using my computer less means I get more done since there are fewer available distractions, which mainly come from the internet. Example: I’m finishing writing this instead of studying for my Conceptual Physics exam on Tuesday.

~ This one is a big duh: the less time I spend with my face stuffed into my computer screen, the more time I spend having a social life with friends (sounds corny but I had to tie this back in somehow). I've been experiencing this a good bit this semester and loving it. More time with people --> less time on computer, and less time on computer --> more time with people. Talk about a vicious cycle I can live with!

So while I'm not totally giving up my computer (how else can I learn to bake a cake anyways?... What? Read a cookbook?!? NONSENSE!), I'll definitely be making a more concentrated effort to get my face out of my screen, out of the fake world of ANTI-social media, and into the real world of face-to-face relationships with, um, real people. Crazy, huh?