MANILA, Philippines ? It began with the constant changing of the lay-out. Facebook users from all over the world were complaining in their status updates that they couldn?t navigate properly through their favorite social networking site. The updates were endless and becoming quite annoying at some point. But it didn?t stop there.

Someone had the bright idea of lifting off from a blog site something called ?25 Random Things? and put it in their notes. And then, they tagged people to do the same. Of course, when I was first tagged back in December last year, it was still 16. And because it was my sister and my brother who filled out the form and asked me to participate, I did. But I stated in my own note that I had a blog of my own and it was quite redundant. You want 16 random things about me, just check my blog. It has been running for the past five years or more. You?ll get more than 16 jumping through the entries.

Then sometime around January, the number was raised to 25 and there was a ?25 randumb things? revolution all over Facebook. Most people probably have at least 20% of their contacts list that they don?t really want to be there, people they don?t really know or care about, and usually, it?s them who put it up and it?s their status update that appears on the Facebook homepage. Annoyingly enough, you get tagged by people from high school or college who you don?t really want to hear from again and you are invited to view their ?25 randumb things.?

Quiz

Thankfully, it?s over. But then, it wasn?t long before we were assaulted by quizzes. Which Marvel character are you? Which Greek God are you? They had a quiz for everything! What?s your superpower? They might as well have a quiz for what disease will you die from.

This madness I did not partake in even if it flooded my homepage with useless drivel. A friend of mine told me that some of the questions on a quiz he took was so leading, it wasn?t even fun. So what?s the point? Do you really need to know which character in Harry Potter you are most like?

The quizzes have lessened over time and now it?s ?5 favorite things.? What are your 5 favorite movies? Who are your five celebrity crushes? What are your 5 favorite mythical creatures? Mythical creatures don?t even exist! What?s the point?

Boon and bane

I will admit that it?s fun to read something you didn?t know from a really close friend?like finding out they are ambidextrous or that a friend loves airplane food and actually asks for seconds?it?s nice to know that a friend can still surprise you. What irks me is the fact that this information becomes so easily accessible to people who didn?t work hard to get it. That?s what I involve myself in a relationship for! I worked hard in long hours of conversations, dinners and night-outs to discover my friend was an extra in Matrix 3 and then some person who happens to be on the friend?s list of my friend knows this without having to have worked for it.

And the sudden influx of information that is available from people I?m not that really close to; it?s unnerving to me and that?s quite hypocritical because I have a personal blog that is open for viewing by anybody who has an Internet connection.

I think the difference lies in the fact that my blog is just out there, unadvertised and it is up to you whether you want to know that about me or not. It?s the flooding of the homepage in Facebook and the blatant announcement that there?s more stuff about people that you probably didn?t know, didn?t care to know, or didn?t even want to know.

I feel that opening up in such a way cheapens out real relationships?conversing and hanging out. The Internet makes it too easy to build bonds but without the foundation of an effort. I thought Facebook was a way to connect and network, not to reveal and expose oneself so publicly. Isn?t that what a blog is for?

But I guess I?m not of this generation who twitters and plurks away what they are eating at that very moment or what show they are enjoying. The mundane and banal day-to-day of everybody?s lives are now eating up kilobytes in cyberspace.

Around five years ago, we got bombarded by text messages asking us if we are having lunch or asking us what are we doing. I guess this is the next logical step forward from that. We are more connected now than ever before but whether we are closer to each other remains to be seen.