Is Email Becoming Obsolete?

I have this really good friend, who shall remain nameless, because if I posted his name, he’d never forgive me. In fact, merely alluding to who he “might” be, may be enough to do me in. He’s a punk rocker at heart, “the man” is a regular part of his vocabulary and, let’s just say, conspiracy theories and privacy issues are relevant in his life.

The other day on Facebook, I received a mysterious message from someone whose name I had never seen before. There were enough clues on his page to convince me it was his but I have to admit, I was quite shocked! He has resisted joining for various reasons, so to see him there required further exploration. When I spoke to him on the phone, he told me, “The only reason I did it is because I wanted to get back in touch with (let’s call him) Mr. X. Ms. Y told me the only way he communicates with people is through Facebook.” Aha. The lure of connection tangles another unsuspecting victim in the web of social media.

Since I’ve been on Facebook, I’ve noticed a similar trend. More and more, I’m receiving less and less personal email. I get an occasional evite but, a personal email? Haven’t seen one of those in awhile. More likely than not, that left hand column says I have a message in my Facebook inbox.

I am quite the Facebook junkie, so I must say, I’m guilty as charged.

But, in an effort to get back to basics, recently I purchased a beautiful, soft, fabulous address book (made out of paper!). I figured the best way to get my friends addresses was to request them via Facebook. I got a load of crap for obtaining the info online when I was trying to go “old school” but I noticed an interesting thing. Very few of my friends included their personal email addresses in addition to their home addresses. The truth of that hit me—Facebook has inadvertently become my new email service.

Sigh.

At least now I can include my newest buddy in the emails that go out to my "Best Friends" group. ;~)p