[throwanem]

I don't know what you mean by 'robust'. What I'm saying is that I used to have a satisfactory social life - on the order of parties or other similar events call it once a month more or less and "let's get together for beers" or similar on a reasonably regular basis besides - which in essence no longer exists.

I can certainly understand that it seems kind of incredible to you. It seems extremely incredible to me! I still haven't quite got wholly around it. And, yes, I can "just" call people up, or text or email them, and sometimes even get a response. I still occasionally do so, and still occasionally get together with one or two people at a time for a few drinks and to catch up. The problem comes in where you try to organize something on a larger scale, or where someone else does so. It would be technically inaccurate to say that to do so is impossible without using Facebook. But I've certainly found it ineffective to try to set things up via email, which was not the case a couple of years ago.

I would not be surprised to learn that I'm as old as, or older than, you are. Most of the people in my former social circle are somewhat older than I am. I'm pretty sure this isn't just a "people in their twenties" thing.

(Edited to add that I don't understand why you're getting downvoted, and I wish people wouldn't without explaining why they're doing so. Certainly, if it's out of some misguided assumption that I've chosen to put myself and my experience out there without being prepared to address people who express entirely reasonable incredulity and doubt about my veracity, let me take a moment to note that such action on my behalf, while certainly appreciated, is entirely unnecessary.)

[ryandrake]

Hmm, interesting. Thanks for your perspective. All I can offer is that I've not seen this phenomenon in my own social circle (age:40). I have always considered "You can't have a social life without Facebook" to be pure hyperbole from people who never knew a world without FB.

I suppose we can agree that "it depends" on who your friends are. Oh, and I don't sweat downvotes on HN--any quick way to bury unpopular opinions can be hard to resist for some people.

[throwanem]

> I have always considered "You can't have a social life without Facebook" to be pure hyperbole from people who never knew a world without FB.

Oh, don't get me wrong! I don't believe it impossible to have a social life without Facebook, and I hope I don't come across otherwise. But I have found it a great deal harder than seems at all reasonable, quite aside from the fact that it's absurd in the first place to have to develop a new social circle because opting out of Facebook sufficed to estrange me from my old one.