Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Facebook Casualty

As a quick follow-up to that last post about being on the planning committee for my Hope College 5 year class reunion I'd like you to know that I completely agree with the following post, even though I was the creator of the Hope College 'o3 Facebook Group and love that so many people have joined.

High School Reunion: Facebook Casualty

For many, it’s a beautiful fantasy.

For the lovelorn, ugly-duckling B-listers in high school who’ve changed their fortunes, the high school reunion is a spectacle of ego, triumph and redemption.

Geek to Chic

Those stories make fantastic TV! Jenny Jones knew it with her Geek-to-Chic shows…Artie Zif and Marge Simpson…Romy and Michelle, you get the point.

Unfortunately, Facebook is quickly destroying this ritual. We live in times of hyperconnectedness, where you can keep tabs on family, friends, long lost friends, family friends of long lost friends, and so on.

There are no more surprises. When you add your entire class year to Facebook, you rob yourself of the beauty of vindication. People can see the incremental changes in you, your model wife, your chiseled six pack. Thanks to Facebook, the element of surprise is quickly vanishing.

The high school reunions of the future — if they will exist — will be supremely boring. You’ll know exactly what everyone’s been up to, you’ll know the places they’ve been, how many kids they have. You can’t ask “what have you been up to all these years” …because you will know the answer.

So true
...So true

I guess the best thing to do is join 122 of your friends in the Hope College class of 2003 group on Facebook!

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