With Facebook, why bother going?

There are victims left in the wake of any drastic shift brought about by a product or service – some intended, some unintended. The high school reunion, for example, is one of the unintended victims of Facebook.

With my class reunion coming up (I plead the Fifth on which year), it surprised me that the number of those attending has rapidly dwindled. There is the expected group of non-attendees (those we lost, those who have moved far away, etc.) but the rise of Facebook has inadvertently taken away the reason for attending.

“It’s just another sign that Facebook’s brand has become a part of our society’s vernacular, often being used as a verb rather than noun.”

Facebook or class reunion?

Why? Because, before Facebook, we weren’t in touch with our former classmates. Now, we know every detail of their lives. We see the thoughts, pictures, interests, and likes of those we care to follow and that sucks a lot of the gossip, sharing and questions that constitute a reunion right out of it.

This isn’t a rant about wishing things would be like they were before. Just the opposite. It’s just another sign that Facebook’s brand has become a part of our society’s vernacular, often being used as a verb rather than noun. As it becomes a greater part of our social interaction, there will be less need for some of our traditional ones.

Is that good? Is that bad? I don’t know, but it just demonstrates that the impact of something like Facebook can sneak up on us without us recognizing it. We already have a class reunion. It just happens to be online.