The Lost Weekend of Facebook

On Friday, at the gentle prodding of a friend, I faced the inevitable and took the Facebook plunge. For a few dizzying hours, I had the same experience that Maria Farrell observed about the social networking site: “Facebook is an opportunity to play the social game again — and lose.” Indeed, setting up the site I ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

On Friday, at the gentle prodding of a friend, I faced the inevitable and took the Facebook plunge. For a few dizzying hours, I had the same experience that Maria Farrell observed about the social networking site: "Facebook is an opportunity to play the social game again -- and lose." Indeed, setting up the site I felt a uniquely dreadful mixture of high school-level social anxiety combined with a keen awareness that I was wasting hours upon hours looking for old friends on the site. Longtime readers will be relieved to hear that I've regained my equilibrium now, thanks in no small part to Reihan Salam's Facebook advice. [So can I make a friend request for you?--ed. Since we've never actually met, not bloody likely.] We'll now continue with regularly scheduled blogging.

On Friday, at the gentle prodding of a friend, I faced the inevitable and took the Facebook plunge. For a few dizzying hours, I had the same experience that Maria Farrell observed about the social networking site: “Facebook is an opportunity to play the social game again — and lose.” Indeed, setting up the site I felt a uniquely dreadful mixture of high school-level social anxiety combined with a keen awareness that I was wasting hours upon hours looking for old friends on the site. Longtime readers will be relieved to hear that I’ve regained my equilibrium now, thanks in no small part to Reihan Salam’s Facebook advice. [So can I make a friend request for you?–ed. Since we’ve never actually met, not bloody likely.] We’ll now continue with regularly scheduled blogging.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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