Is Facebook Hurting Relationships?

Is Facebook's ability to connect with old friends and seek out new companions in secret actually affecting relationships out in the real world? This article suggests yes!

As ridiculous as the headline sounds, can Facebook really break your heart? Back in my day, Facebook was a simple diversion that came online during Finals Week, meaning that everyone spent way too much time updating their profile and reconnecting with friends from kindergarten. 4.5 short years later, it has become THE tool to stay increasingly connected in a world that should make staying connected harder than ever.

We're constantly on the move, be it from meeting to meeting, from home on the East Coast to school on the West, or off to Tibet to study the mating habits of the spotted iguana for 9 months while staying in a hut with ancient monks. Everything is stacked against us maintaining relationships, let alone rekindling old flames (I for one have been routinely criticized over the years for letting friendships fall by the wayside).

Yet here is Facebook, no longer just a cult fad, but a legitimate tool that makes the world the size of a computer screen. Just this past week I have connected to old college friends, made plans for trips around the country, and checked up on my little sister's college shenanigans!

But is there a darker side to these connections? Does Facebook allow us too much access, too many opportunities to stray? That is exactly the question this article asks in loooking at the Facebook phenomenon. So what do you think? Is Facebook a positive agent of change that will forever alter the way we consider friendship? Or is it a dark and destructive power that does not relate well to reality? Discuss!