REAL CONNECTIONS

I admit, I was once addicted to Facebook. But unlike most of its users who busy themselves with curating perfect lives on the social networking site for people like them to gawk at, my frequent visits -- childish as they may seem -- had been driven by the gamer in me.

CityVille, FarmVille, The Sims Social, Island Paradise, Candy Crush, Restaurant City, Happy Aquarium, Pet Society. Name it. I have played almost every popular game offered on FB. That instead of engaging myself in a productive activity during my free time -- like writing for this blog, for instance -- I would rather play an FB social game for hours on end.  And that was even when I knew I set up an account to connect with people and not to collect virtual coins. Sadly, to me, Facebook is more fun when it comes to the latter.

This is because I don't agree with what has become of Facebook to many. Now, it is more of a place that caters well to attention- and affirmation-hogging people. People who, as I said, choose what fits public consumption and then propound that their peak of the mountain is higher than that of other people's. Obviously, there's no real connection anymore, but a showcase of who has more and who is better.

Nevertheless, I am still glad and thankful that there are Facebook friends who go beyond the feed for some "real" connections. Did I say they are what makes an FB account worth keeping, after all?