Facebook High

Re-reading the article "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" I am looking at it completely different. The first time I read it (when it was assigned) I thought it was basically a stupid article. I don't see loneliness as something that can be surveyed or measured, however apparently Mr. John Cacioppo has miraculously made this into a career. Anyways that doesn't matter, I still find the article's content rather questionable but I am not calling it's bluff just yet. The way I look at it is this article could have been a  hell of a lot shorter. Basically Facebook is an online high school, and people treat it exactly the same. Burke talks about how Facebook stalking only leads to skulking, but how so? If you are 'unpopular' via Facebook and you get jealous or lonely by seeing what everyone else is doing in their fun lives as recorded by status updates, pictures, wall-to-wall interactions, and so fourth; isn't that a bit pathetic? Yet the 'unpopular' Facebook crowd are the FB feins. You are asking for this self inflicted loneliness by signing on, and stalking. I know the article states this somewhere but it can't get anymore real; we create our own loneliness. Facebook will give you what you put into it, much like high school. The answer to your question, Stephen Marche, is no, Facebook is not making us lonely we are making us lonely. Maybe Facebook is even helping? In season 3 of Grey's Anatomy a man comes in for a full facial transplant, in order for you to be allowed to get the surgery you have to have a "support team" there for you during recovery. This man dealing with a very unattractive deformity to the face had no friends, no family, no one... except, an online blog where he and three other people- he has never met in real life- chats daily for hours. These people come to be his support team and they knew him better than I think I know my best friend. It's riveting. Can social networks play both sides; the isolater and the consolidator?