[benched]

I have a friend who posts to Facebook several times per day about where they are and what they're doing. Only a few years ago, this person used to be my closest friend. Now, we are distant, and I feel this Facebook usage is part of that. I am under the impression that this person feels their social needs met, and their social 'obligations' discharged, by regular status updates. They are 'connecting' to everyone they know continuously. Meanwhile, I feel I hardly know them anymore. But I know exactly where they are and what they are doing at any given moment. This person has also told me that they feel they have become friends with certain people they only communicate with on Facebook. That doesn't seem like a real friendship to me. I should add that all of this communication is 'public' in that it is all visible to all the people in these friend circles. That too seems strange to me. How many personal things will someone say in such mixed company? And, indeed, the communication seems far more banal and superficial than what I am used to. It is almost painful to read.

My friend feels very differently on the subject, and that itself is part of the reason for our drifting apart.

[Zikes]

Sometimes people drift apart, not all friendships last forever. It's entirely possible the same thing would have happened with or without Facebook.

Regarding your feelings towards their new "friends", you've no right to question their friendship or its value. Those are real people on both ends, no matter the means in the middle, and you should respect that. All of my best friends I've met online by way of various sites. We've only seen each other in person a handful of times, yet they know me and I know them better than anyone whom I interact with face-to-face.