Do you have any odd or quirky habits?
I think we all do things that seem normal in our everyday lives, but would be viewed as strange if anyone else — say on the Internet — saw us do them. For example, I cut my doughnuts into 12 equal pieces. And I eat each piece with a fork. I also rip the tabs off of pop cans, toss salt over my shoulder when the shaker falls and come to a complete stop at stop signs, even when there’s no other car for miles.
Speaking of the Internet and all its oddness…
About a week ago, my friend David posted a story on his Facebook feed that was titled “Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds.” David and I have known each other for about 10 years. However, we’ve never actually met in person. Our entire relationship has taken place online, first on Livejournal, then in email and now on Facebook.
The very fact that I know David, and his lovely wife Michelle (who I believe David met online), and the fact that he knows me and my husband M (whom I met online) shows that the Internet is a wonderful place for social interaction. Yet according to this article, which is based on a new University of Michigan study, using Facebook leads to declines in “moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction.”
After reading the story, I sparked a conversation with David online, and we engaged in a back and forth discussion about the study’s various merits and deficiencies. This text-based chat was quite enjoyable because it gave me the opportunity to talk with someone I’ve always liked (even though we’ve never met).
David and I could not have had that chat in person; we live 1,415 miles apart. Phone calls are even more difficult, due to the differences in our schedules. So without Facebook, or some other social network, we would not have been able to engage each other in this manner. That would have made me very unhappy.
Or perhaps the study is right, and I’m just odd.
Photo by Scott Ableman. Used with permission.
