[djacobs]

> When we "chill out" with our friends, what do we talk about other than "man, my work sucks" or "omg, my son Jonny is learning to walk!"?

If all I ever had to talk about was work sucking and kids learning to walk, I would not consider life a fun adventure and would probably not ever speak. That's what philosophy, art, literature and technology are for: intriguing, awe-inspiring, non-mind-numbing conversation. The kind Facebook is not too good at promoting.

[gilbertl]

That you spend much time in art and philosophy is great. I also spend lots of time reading books, watching TED videos, and working on side projects.

But not everyone is like that. Many parents care a lot about their children and can indeed talk about them all day. Many people also think work sucks and find it comforting to have friends who agree.

Whether you can have awe-inspiring conversations on Facebook depends on your FB friends. I've friends who frequently post tech news, political news, and other discussion-inspiring things on Facebook. I also have friends who post mind-numbing conversations online. Both are valuable to me.

[djacobs]

I hear ya.

However, I've got some fantastic friends with whom I talk medical ethics, the state of the world, our technical future, etc., almost exclusively. On Facebook, with those same friends (I constantly prune my FB friend list for real, current friends), no such conversation ever happens, even if we've (say) been on vacation away from each other for a solid week.

I've heard many many people say on FB: "This is not the place to have this debate, let's have coffee?" I'm convinced that there's no way to have a rational (but heartfelt) dialogue in the tiny, self-collapsing ("don't talk too much!") blue boxes that make up that all too superficial site.

(I mean it's called Facebook.)