I have been on Facebook for quite a while now, but I am not an active poster. Not long after joining I confronted the “Who am I?” question. Like most people I lead several lives. Public and private, social and professional, artsy or athletic, etc. I haven’t figured out which subset to be without feeling schizophrenic or worrying I might come off the wrong way to the wrong subset of my friends list.

I’ve also joined Linked In and gained some comfort that I could be purely professional there and somewhat social on Facebook.  But I am not, by nature, an expressive individual and I don’t find any driving desire to share much of my life, daily or otherwise, with others.  So I visit Facebook, perhaps once a week or so, and peruse my wall and inbox to see what others I know are up to.  Aside from excited posts about my favorite sport’s teams winning big games, I don’t find compelled to add much to this system of my own.  My friends’ posts, aside from providing some voyeuristic window onto their lives, don’t compell me to interact with them on any greater level than I do in real life.  In some ways, if I did it would come across to me as artificial versus a phone call or a face to face chat.  And, finally, if I spend time interacting through this digital medium is it worth the loss I suffer doing things in person or quiet time I find valuable for myself?

I have accepted, and been accepted by, about 90 others on Facebook.  I have gotten many other invites, but feel awkward about accepting invites from c0-workers or former co-workers given my position with the company I work with now.  Again, that conflict between me as the professional and me as the individual.

In summary, I find the Facebook phenomenon intriguing, but not quite for me in any engaging sense.  How many others will come to the same conclusion?