Theater Thursday: The Social Network

I'm talking about taking the entire social experience of college and putting it on the internet.
That's what this movie is about. Facebook. Things written there aren't written in pencil. It's ink. Permanent. Lasting. Forever.
There are several directions I could take this post. I could hit the world upside the head with my Jane Austen action figure and demand we all go back to quill pens and paper. Long love letters, and stories of balls and lace. I could preach my homeschool stance, saying that too much socialism leads to terrible things like holding hands (I suppose I must point out that I'm being humorous here, because some of you might think I'm actually serious).
I am anxious to see where this film goes. Right now, I can't imagine a world without Facebook. There are so many people I would never talk to without it. Yes, this is a horrible reality to be faced with, but none the less, a true one. At the same time, I don't think there is a single person out there who hasn't been injured by the site. It could be that their self esteem went down because of some girl's air brushed photos, or the fact that they don't have as many friends as so-and-so.
The more I think about it, the more I can correlate it to People Magazine. There is a small part in each of us that wonders what it's like to be famous. Facebook gives us that glimpse! Our relationships and breakups are plastered around like entertainment. Our vacation photos viewed with envy. Our status updates gleaming with over dramatized adventure stories of going to the movies. Yet, we adore it. In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin, did actually launch Facebook from their Harvard dorm room. Since then, the site has reached over 400 million users. 50% of them log on to Facebook on any given day. People spend over 500 billion minutes on Facebook every month.
So what is it about Facebook that draws us in? Let me help you out. These stories were taken from the recently added application Facebook Stories:
"A woman's Facebook status updates from her mobile phone become a lifeline for her and a group of 36 people traveling in Haiti during the earthquake. A recently laid-off man lands a new job by reaching out to his friends on Facebook. After 15 years apart, a father reconnects with his daughter through Facebook" just to name a few.
Despite my post, you must decide for yourself. Is this the culture of death at it's highest? Or just another MySpace? I like to hope the site will take a turn for the better, and that I can use it to express my creative side, as well as my Catholic stance.
Either way, I know the site will live on.