Q&A Tuesday: Do you use Facebook?

Tsh over at Simple Mom has posted this Q&A Tuesdays question over at her blog:

Do you use Facebook? What’s your primary motivation? How much time do you spend on it weekly? And - how do you handle those requests for friendship, for accepting virtual plants, or anything else you just don’t want to do?

My answer:

Yes, I use Facebook, but over the last year my relationship with Facebook has changed. I used to add all the applications, accepted all friend requests and play the games. Reality soon set in and I realized that I was climbing a mountain of laundry and my kids wanted a "real meal". And for what?

Now I continue to be on Facebook, but it's mostly to keep up with my friends. Usually people I know in person or have an ongoing virtual relationship with via e-mails or e-courses outside of Facebook. I have most of my family, girls from boarding school and university, former neighbours, scrappy ladies, old boyfriends, etc. They are real, tangible people with whom I have an ongoing relationship. I can easily update them on what is going on in my household which can be a bit of a logistical nightmare! I also have Twitter which feeds into Facebook status updates for the same purpose.

I enjoy seeing how my friends are doing and what their children are up to, what courses are new and available, who is visiting where and what the weather is like in various parts of the world!

It's like being on a "party line" with permission. Great fun.

But it is a time sucker. So, all of my applications, well, most of them, have been removed. I'm happy to stay out of the "I have more friends than you" contest and keep my "friends" to a manageable group under 150!

So, are you on Facebook?

Oh, and while you're over on Simple Mom, be sure to check out her menu - for the entire month of April!