In the old days, we got updates on friends’ accomplishments at reunions, through the ubiquitous Christmas newsletter or during an annual “I am sorry it’s been so long but really it will be a year before I ring you again” call. But Facebook, with the click of the “refresh” button, indulges my little green-eyed monster 24 hours a day. Tired of hating the friend who ate a dozen cupcakes and doesn’t know how she didn’t gain weight? Another friend just happens to be “packing for a trip to the international space station.” It’s kind of like watching a stock index of people’s lives, but in a perpetual bull market…
As my sympathetic Facebook friend Elizabeth observed, “It always seems like there’s a party going on and I’m not invited.” It reminds me of junior high when the popular kids showed up on Monday talking about the crazy, fun things they did over the weekend and I’d spent the previous two days mistakenly thinking that fractals were cool.
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