Friends or "Friends"?

Well, the last I checked a friend was someone with whom I had a fairly intimate relationship. You know, the person I shared my thoughts, hopes, dreams, and fears with. Normally, we did this over the phone or while taking a walk or over dinner or maybe even while our children played at the park. Usually though, it was a fairly private conversation filled with sharing ideas and perhaps even a prayer said in support of each other.

How did we move from a few close friends to hundreds of "friends" on our Facebook page? Are they all really our friends? Do all of these people truly care about each other or have we just become that nosy? And what has brought us to such a state that we want to know so much about so many people?

I often wonder if we will see a spike in depression - "Wow, look at how cool that person is - look at their amazing accomplishments, their family, their 100's more friends than mine"

I guess it leaves me in the antiquated category since I still prefer my close circle of friends who share food, faith, and fun with me on a personal level, and thus I have pared down my own Facebook to include only family, and I will say it's ever so nice to work on getting reaquainted with those far-flung cousins and aunts!

Thoughts anyone?