Adults on Facebook

It's just for kids, isn't it? I don't think so. In this age of "Bowling Alone" the internet provides a way for adults to maintain connections over distance and time. Sure, Facebook has lots of kids (including mine who thinks it is embarrassing that Dad is on Facebook), but kids have lots of close connections through school and activities. Adults may connect through work, civic groups, religious institutions, etc., but most modern Americans are disconnected.

Most adults won't admit to the impact this disconnect has on their lives. We are socialized (men even more so than women) to tough it out, go it alone, etc. I admit it. I miss my friends who are far away, I miss my former colleagues and classmates, I miss the connections.

I'm playing with Facebook to see if it reduces the pain of psycho-social loneliness. So far I feel pretty good about it. I'm also playing with Twitter to see if the same idea, sped up to real time, helps as well.

One twist is that I've proposed "Facebook befriending" some of my young cousins (My cousins kids). I'm curious to see if they are weirded out or if they even "friend" me. While I'm not terribly curious about the details of their social lives, I don't think this social technology needs to separate the generations. Hopefully, their parents will reassure them that I'm not a predator.

What do you think?