Our Facebook Obsessions

Attention everyone! I have an important declaration to make.

You should not base your happiness, or the value of your life, on how many "likes" you get on your Facebook status update.

This is ludicrous! I cannot claim to be innocent in this issue, so those of you who are already offended (maybe I hit a little too close to home) please know I am not throwing stones. However, as I continue to use technology like social networking, both for work and for personal use, I can see that we as a society are starting to change our views of technology's role in our lives. I have evidence to back up my claims:
1. I recently got invited to a football game viewing party. When I say "party", I mean that my boyfriend and I were invited to a friend's house, with 4 other people total, and instead of calling us to ask us if we wanted to watch, I was invited via a facebook event.
2. When implementing a new technological tool at school with my students, I got the response "Can't we just do it the old fashioned way and print it out for you?!" Old fashioned way is now "to type and print"...
3. I realized that upon completing tasks like doing the dishes, I felt a unnerving need to post about it online and get complimented by the general public on my great "accomplishment".
4. I also realized that I once got extremely angry at my boyfriend for not bothering to update his status for months on end... mostly because I wanted people to "see our relationship grow". What?!? Can't our friends just go out with us to see this?!?!

There is so, so much more...
However, what I decided to do was not to complain about this inundation, but rather to be sure that I accept this reality (although I don't need to like it) and to let you all know that you are BETTER than this. True friends don't need to be "friends" on facebook. Truly good news should be shared in person. Real accomplishment comes from your feeling of satisfaction within, not from how many people "view your profile". And, when you update your status to share that you've finished brewing another cup of tea for an afternoon pick-me-up, know that perhaps the world won't really take notice, and if no one "likes" your post, it is going to be ok. You can still drink your tea and find pleasure in it. If not, perhaps you need to turn off the computer. Now.