Friends --

This is such a weird note to be writing, but here it goes:

I am leaving Facebook.

The mere fact that I have wrestled with this on-and-off, in jest and in seriousness, for over a year (think: the entire post-news feed era) probably affirms why I need to do it and just be done with it.

I mean, this is the internet. How do you decide to sever your relationship with something that doesn't have feelings? Why do I even have a 'relationship' with something that can't feel (or can it?)? I guess it's pretty simple, really. When that something has impacted your life in such a way that just doesn't seem quite right...you need to do some investigating. Somewhere between the sleeping time lost, my furrowed-brow reaction to the first broken heart to appear on my news feed, and the 43rd SuperPoke invitation, I just stopped liking it around here.

Don't get me wrong. The hardest part of this decision has been in recognizing that I've been able to reconnect and keep in touch with all of you and wondering if our friendships would be hampered by the lack of this modern marvel as the conduit. I certainly hope not and will leave my contact info at the end of this letter to keep this hope alive.

I suppose what really tipped my scales was this article I read on Saturday morning (anchored by my having watched Tron the previous night, lol) about Facebook Connect. Facebook plans to make it possible for you to essentially carry your identity/info across any site you visit for which you would have to register. I definitely understand the desired simplicity of their plan - after all, who really needs more usernames and passwords to remember at this point?

But seriously...

Is privacy just an obsolete concept? I'm sure the Facebook team will do their best to safeguard the effort. But the bigger question for me is -- am I supposed to enjoy living my whole life on the internet? Am I supposed to be cool with spending hours on end in front a glowing screen and trust that no one is at least thinking of using my information against me? I don't say all of this to freak you guys out. But I dunno, sure we're all 'community' here, but we're also 'customers' in a business that needs to make a profit. And as long as profit is a motive, I have a low threshold for how far I think my my personal life should be integrated into such a structure. Plus, I don't think any of us want to be dealing with Facebook withdrawal in the event that something like a "random" internet outage occurs here.

Alright, I've already gone on too long here, and probably have made this sound more serious than it needs to be. In closing though, I do suggest that everyone, just in general, spend some time thinking about this whole internet thing. It's been four years on Facebook for many of us. Are we just supposed to be here forever? Sure there have been great moments (and some really wack ones too - i.e. the Relationships section is guaranteed to spill salt on your life in one way or another), but what's next? Well, let's just see.

After four years, and because I hardly remember what pre-Facebook life was like, I think it's time for a Commencement to experience life after Facebook. Or else I'm gonna go crazy.

Thanks for reading.