So, I was on Facebook the other night (the other morning, the other afternoon, the other 3 hours a day I spend there) and I came across a picture posted by someone I am not Facebook friends with, but that tagged my friend, Shane.
It was a Little League picture from our childhood, (1984 National All-Star Team) and I smiled, looking at all the faces and remembering all the boys, now men, on the team.
What struck me most, though, were the comments.
The guys on the team started commenting about how many games they had won, who they defeated, who defeated them, certain players on other teams, from other towns, remember who kids were on the team, etc.
Each man had a different piece of the puzzle, and from reading all of the comments, you got a true feeling for the whole season.
I know that there are pits and traps with Facebook.
Particularly for younger people who don’t think before they post.
However, I think that Facebook can also serve as a collective memory for us all.
If the man who had posted the picture had simply found the picture in a drawer and looked at it, he may have remembered some of the kids on the team, and some of the info, but by posting it, he now gets to remember all of it, and everyone else who was tagged also gets to remember it, as well.
That’s what I love about Facebook.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the silly and the mundane stuff, as well, but this…this remembering…this sharing of lives…this collective memory…that’s what gets me.
Right. Here.
I posted a pic of the pasture behind my great grandmother’s house and was surprised at the comments it evoked. Comments from family members that, if it weren’t for Facebook, we probably even be communicating. (Sad to say, but true.) We all had great memories of her house and it was neat reading about theirs. I think that’s what I like most about Facebook–it really brings people together who might not have been brought together otherwise. It’s truly a virtual gathering place for current friends and family and long-lost friends and family.
Comment by Michelle Cook King — June 24, 2012 @ 10:51 am |
Love that story! Definitely a virtual gathering place. I’ve reconnected with so many people I had lost touch with.
Comment by abozza — June 24, 2012 @ 2:38 pm |