Facebook is not as good as Real Life on the Phone or in Person

I have reconnected with many friends on Facebook over the two years that I have been on it, yet I miss the face to face connections with people that I used to have.  I also think that it does help when you want to connect with friends who live in a far state or overseas, but I would really like to talk to them by phone or in person.  I even emailed some of my friends' my phone number and I got no response.  Do you believe people are hiding behind Facebook, and not telling people how they really are doing?  Or are they telling too much on Facebook that no one in their right mind would say on the phone or in person?  What do you think?  Thanks.

lol, Gwen!  I hear you.  I think many of us do unconsciously "hide" behind FB, but I got a RUDE awakening to that today when an old friend came across politically on FB in a way I never expected!  So in some ways we are not hiding everything.  As far as the phone calls, I would suggest asking for the people's numbers if you want to call/hear from them!  It always makes a big difference (I've found) when you make that first step of calling a person... sometimes it takes more than one call!

I have to say, I think that I've used Facebook less and less because I'm out actually SEEING the people I want to see. That said, I recently moved halfway across the country, so I still definitely use it to connect with friends I don't get to see often, but I sitll always prefer phones. I've actually taken to doing video chat too...it's SO nice to just sit and chat with a friend for a bit and actually feel like you're both there together. My mom and I sometimes go have coffee together over the phone, and my friends and I sometimes have a glass of wine at our respective homes together over video chat. It's a really great compromise to surpass the distance :)

I agree with Gwen...I have 90 friends on FB but still the same two or three people call me.  Of course none of them live all that close to me now. 

Oh my god, I just realized I have 670 friends on facebook. Apparently I'm a facebook hoar. Granted, some 85% of those people I'm not terribly interested in, but it's good to know that JUST IN CASE we need to actually reconnect one day, facebook will be there. That's how I see it: facebook is more a *resource* than anything else. If I want to find interesting links or news stories, I'll check out my friends' walls. Or if I want to e-stalk a potential date--well, we've all done that, right? ;)

The point is that facebook adds another dimension to friendships--allowing you to see their real-time updates, making you privy to their current life situations (school, job, relationships)--but never does it replace substantive friendships. Those take time in the real world, be it over the phone or video chat or actual time spent physically together. So when we can finally see who is elevated above "facebook friend" to real life friend, well, then we know who's special.