You might have noticed from my earlier blog post that I have started to reduce my usage of Facebook beginning with ‘February w/o Facebook.’ I have noticed that Facebook is increasingly merging with the real world. And this is the very reason I have decided to quit it, because it is neither completely REAL nor completely VIRTUAL.

There’s a saying, that states a person wears a variety masks in their life, that of a friend, a lover, a superior, an enemy, etc. But see the thing with masks is that you can only wear one at a time. Facebook does not allow you the opportunity to change personas, meaning that when you add, your school-friends, your co-workers, and your family members as friends you have to realize one thing, all of those groups of people view you in specific light. But when you get on your friend’s page talking about how you did some dash with some dash, then it’s a problem because one of your family members or co-workers can view that comment. All of a sudden they’ve lost respect for you or believe you are irresponsible.

Thinking about posting picture of you flaunting how good your life is now, so that your ex will see and wish they never let you go or maybe just because you need an ego boost and is looking forward to all the superficial comments you’ll receive, well think again. The top 5 new pictures you post will be listed in your recent activity log and will be the first thing people see when they go to your page. Why is this a bad thing? You are just being narcissist and just doing all this to boost your ego.

The truth of the matter is that every person, no matter who they are, changes their behavior depending on their environment. It’s not being two-face or phony, it’s simply adapting. There is no universal personality for you to display. Facebook is a social network that allows you to openly contradict the images that you display in different aspects of your life. People are three dimensional beings and should not be confined to a one dimensional social-networking nightmare.

Facebook is a great website that can help you connect with old and current friends. However, One important thing to remember about Facebook is that while you call everyone you connect with a “Facebook Friend,” the relationships all have varying degrees of closeness in real life. In fact, Facebook ‘Friend’, itself is a misnomer.

“Facebook Friends” means just that: you’re friends on Facebook. You can view each others’ profiles and tag each other in pictures. But people you call “friends” on Facebook are not all people with whom you are close. They might be your best friend from Kindergarten, someone you met in a party at friend’s friend’s place, or anything in between. Facebook communication is a good way to keep in touch with people whom you would otherwise not see again, but that doesn’t mean your relationship goes anywhere beyond casual acquaintances.

Facebook can damage relationships when people assume a higher level of friendship than actually exists. This goes two ways. First, you should not assume that reading your friends’ status updates, playing Farm Town with them, or writing a few notes on their walls means you are maintaining your friendship. That requires actually socializing, spending time together, chatting on the phone or in person – not just superficial contact on the Internet.

Conversely, some people get upset when they are defriended on Facebook, as if it was a real relationship/friendship that has broken up. In truth, there are many reasons for defriending someone on Facebook, from being actually upset with them to simply realizing that you don’t communicate much, or that you don’t want to share parts of your private life with someone whom you don’t know well.

Smilarly, people might not invite you (or even if they invite, it could be just a superficial invitation) to their parties or other events through Facebook for the same reason: you are just an acquaintance or person whom they want to keep in touch with, but not friends. This is a distinction that people easily accept in real life, but calling everyone on Facebook your “friend” seems to blur the lines.