"well, I call it twatting!"

The title was one of the few funny lines from "Couples Retreat" - see my review here.

The other day a friend stated:

"You may not admit it, but you can view someones life every week on facebook and hardly ever converse with them, and it is kind of nice."

I find this is the sad downside of our blossoming and ever-changing technological boom. We are constantly connected to the web - no matter where we are - through blackberries and cell phones; and, we don't even have to contact each other to be updated on our lives anymore. Where she finds it comforting to stay in touch without any actual contact, I find it lonely and disconnected.

When I'm not aware that someone had a child, is sick, lost a parent, or has changed jobs/girlfriends/locations ... I have often heard the aggravating retort: "didn't you see my status update?" Or, "didn't you read my blog?" I've had the same cell phone number for almost 10 years. My parents have had the same phone number since 1986; and, I can easily be contacted through them if you ever knew that number. I realize texting is easier, and I'm just as guilty as the next party ... but when did personal contact become replaced by indirect random free-for-all contact visible to the masses?

Sure, I am on facebook -- but to be honest, I'm there for the scrabble! I don't sit and read people's updates. If I happen to catch them on the main page when I sign in, or see a picture, so be it. I don't use it to stalk everyone else and if someone gets upset cause I didn't feel like pulling a paparazzi move on them, they need to deflate their egos and come back down to earth! When did we all become so important that our status must be known to everyone we are (or aren't) friends with at all times? Has reality tv created an ego-monster in everyone that makes them feel as though they need a 'pump' every day? Or worse, with twitter - every few hours or minutes?

At some point -- just like myspace -- facebook and twitter will die out. For those reliant on this to keep in touch, will you remember how to write or call? Or will it simply be too late for people that have forgotten friendships that haven't been tended to?

This is just for fun: