Oh, how I love thee, Facebook

I am madly in love with Facebook. Not because I look at it all the time (although there are days . . .), but because it brings out the best in society. For those of you who only know of Facebook from the things you read about it or the news stories about controversy surrounding it, you might be skeptical. But it really is a beacon of light to me and highlights all the good things about people. Sure, there are things about it that aren't that great (the random quizzes get a bit tedious sometimes, but I mostly avoid them, which solves that problem), but its plusses are so worth the minuses that I recommend it to everyone I know.

Facebook is basically sunshine and friendship. People can tell the world a tiny bit about themselves in a moment, which brings us close together in the otherwise mundane aspects of life and makes us feel less alone. It reminds us that we are all pretty much dealing with the same stuff (kids, work, marriage; you know, life), and that we are all doing ok. It provides a place to vent frustration or self-doubt. But the best thing is that if you do feel a little beat up by life and post that on your status, the outpouring of support is unbelievable.

I am delighted by reading other people's status posts on Facebook because they are often hilarious (another good thing about Facebook, it shows off how damn funny people can be), and because if someone lets us know they're having a bad day, the outpouring of pick-me-up messages is awesome. People are so nice to each other on Facebook. People write things to each other like, "you are so cute!" or "that's hilarious!" or "I miss you." In public! Who ever says things like that to a friend or loved one? It's rare in personal interaction, but not on Facebook. Happens all the time.

One of the best additions to Facebood is the "I like this" feature, which gives people a thumbs up when they post something other people like. It's utilized constantly, and honestly, it never gets old. I think it's so understated and happy that I could kiss the person who invented that feature. But, of course, Facebook makes me so damn happy that I could kiss the world after a few minutes checking in on my friends there. It might just give Disney World a run for its "Happiest Place on Earth" money (it's about time, I might add).

Obviously, connecting with long-lost friends and catching up with family is always a good thing. But being able to do it in such a happy, gentle place makes the reunions so easy. I love seeing married couples sending each other virtual sweets and "getting married" in Facebook land. I love seeing someone post yet another cranky status update and getting encouraging messages in return, no matter how futile the attempt to cheer might be. I love that it's a diverse place, with members young and old, male and female, people of different races, ethnicities, religions.

I may look back at this post years from now, barf at how sappy I was (as you may be doing now), and laugh at my naive self for loving something that eventually went wrong. But right now, in my estimation, there's nothing wrong with Facebook. And if loving Facebook is wrong, I don't wanna be right.