Worrying about which pictures were posted from which party. Being inundated with “news” that my friends have finally saved up for a tractor or have acquired a golden hairbrush for their virtual pet. The awkward presence of the over-50 crowd.
Yes, there are many reasons I’m saddened by the bloated atrocity that was once my old collegehood friend Facebook.
I used to be able to write swear-word-laden posts or laugh at my friend’s capacity for imbibing alcohol. Now, the site has become a police state, thanks to zealous employers and snooping relatives. Having to second-guess yourself wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal, but when Facebook opened to the public in 2006, grannies joined in the fun, and the fetters snapped tight.
While I regret the loss of Facebook’s heady days of collegiate yore, there are benefits to being able to connect instantly and share your interests with any of the service’s 500 million active users.
Usually, my status updates consist of me being prematurely curmudgeonly, but I’ll usually adapt a song lyric to get my point across, thus blunting the sting somewhat.
And last week, I was informed that an old friend, who is also a bit of a music snob, tagged me in a note about 15 albums she could recall in 15 minutes and would always remember, independent of their artistic merit.
Usually, when someone posts a note, I go searching Facebook’s always-changing design for the delete button. This seemed interesting, however, so I joined in.
I won’t go into my selections beyond saying that Oasis’ “What’s the Story (Morning Glory)” occupied the No. 1 slot. What was fascinating was watching the ripple effect as the people I tagged posted their own lists. I imagined the wave continuing as their friends followed suit.
Even if Facebook has become a monstrous caricature of its former self, it’s managed to open up whole new avenues to fans of music for sharing their passion.
So, yeah, I might not give a hoot that someone has attracted a brown owl to their farm, and I might be unmoved by the triumph of my friends’ vampire clan, but it’s nice to know they’re there to gush about Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” or to help me fill out my list of most overrated songwriters.
Granted, it’s no Farmville – and it sure as [swear word] isn’t what Facebook used to be – but I’ll take it, regardless.
E-mail Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com.