You know, one of the reasons we moved way out here to North Dakota from my lifetime home in the PNW was because my physical problems made it just too hard to keep up with the "busy life" out there. However, it is really, really quiet out here, and people here don't really like us, because we didn't convert and follow the rural social expectations (I couldn't). They have a habit, here, of isolating people who have physical problems. Anyway, facebook has allowed me to get back in touch with and stay in a genuine kind of daily contact with people who were very important throughout my life. The joy is, we get to share our lives with each other, but I don't have to "go out" to do it. I can be "normal" in that setting. On top of that, I added a load of people I don't know because I played the games for a while. That has been really enriching. They are from every corner of the world, and I screened them based on the info they presented, and their communication with their friends/family that I observe backs up what their info represents about them. This whole facebook experience has been a joy for me, and allowed me to live a very normal life in a very limited situation :-).

As far as privacy goes: There isn't any. I grew up with a lot of people who are now at the top of the tech food chain, and they have explained it to me carefully enough that I get it. I am unreasonably careful with my financial info, but as far as every other bit of personal statistical info, it's all out there, whether or not I want it to be. Cordless phones are also a big security issue, but, oh well. I see my interaction on facebook as a kind of "going out in public (with friends)", and I act accordingly. I don't hide my face, and I converse openly, but my "out in public" boundaries are in place.

Just another POV about facebook. :-)

Linn