I remember the obnoxious dial tone coming from the modem of my Dell desktop computer like it was yesterday.
With the click of an icon, I was submerged in the cyber-world of America Online, the first social networking program. I had access to the World Wide Web at my fingertips, and with AOL Instant Messenger I had the ability to virtually chat with my friends from the comfort of my own home.
It's extraordinary how far technology has come. Just 10 years ago, the Internet was nothing more than a slow, alternative source of information and a second-hand way to interact with peers. Now, I sit here with Internet access in my pants pocket. I can click a button on my Blackberry and watch an episode of Entourage in the blink of an eye.
I find the evolution of social networking to be even more remarkable.
AIM is slowly becoming a thing of the past. While I'm sure we all still have it actively running on our desktops, when push comes to shove, AIM gives its users minimal options when it comes to interacting with friends and family. With the uprising of popular alternatives in Facebook, Twitter and Skype, AIM is slowly becoming as obsolete as the dial tone that once buzzed out of my computer modem.
I vividly remember the day I created my Facebook account. Just four short years ago, Facebook was nothing more than a small networking site that allowed college students to interact with one another through wall-postings and picture comments. Breaking into the Facebook network was an indication that I had made it to college. It was a privilege to join the cyber-collegiate world in an exclusive online network.
Four years later, however, Facebook is no longer only for college students. Anyone and everyone can create an account and join the Facebook community. When I received a friend request from my cousin in the fifth grade and a wall post from my 50-year-old aunt, I realized that times have changed.
Unfortunately, I can't say that I particularly like the new Facebook.
While the foundation of the original Facebook still exists somewhere behind Farmville and Mafia Wars, the site is becoming a painful reminder of why I hated the once popular MySpace.
At one point, my Facebook network consisted of close friends, former high school classmates and newly formed college friendships. Now, I find myself receiving friend requests from high school freshman that were in elementary school when I came to UB. Allowing them to view my profile is no different than inviting a stranger into my life.
After all, much of our social life is stored in our picture albums. I can't remember a Sunday morning that has gone by without finding myself tagged in a picture from the night before.
And what is with the new craze of status updates?
Is it really a necessity to let people know where you are, how you're feeling and what you're doing at all times? Whatever happened to the notion of personal privacy and confidentiality? I don't feel the need to let people know my every move. It's mindboggling to me that people are willing to share so much of their personal lives with peers and strangers.
However, I'll be the first to admit I cannot get away from Facebook. It has become a necessary checkpoint in my daily life cycle. I find myself logging on without a purpose countless times every day. I don't update my status and I don't upload pictures, yet I find it an obligation to log on regardless.
So, I wonder. At what point do I find myself escaping the world of Facebook? I'm not so sure.
But I know one thing is for certain. I don't want my children viewing pictures of my college years when they create profiles of their own 20 years from now. That would just set a bad example.
E-mail: joe.paterno@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
