facing up to it

Lots of people use Facebook these days. Some use it to keep in touch with their friends; some use it to chatter away, giving those little hints that their lives have the same highs and lows and things that irritate or enliven that you or I do. Some seem to use it to say "my life is different from yours, because (fill in the blank).

And some use it as the gateway to online games. What I notice is that when I dip in and try something, I go through the stages of wondering what it is and what I'm supposed to click on. I pretty soon find (1) it's rather tedious or just not fun or (2) it takes loads of effort or (3) maybe, just maybe, if I click on it again, I might just get the hang of it.

And then there's the moment when I reach level 2 and a score of 6,000 (and feel really pleased), soon followed by the moment when I find out that some friend of mine has got to level 35 and a score of 100,000. At that point, amazement turns to despair, tinged with the thought "how did they find so much time to do all that?"

Of course, the final blow comes when I see the global league table and discover the world leader is at level 3165 with a score of 15 million. This person clearly has no other life; I just hope they're happy.

The next stage is for me to remember that I only went in for a few minutes amusement to fill in that quiet time when I was waiting for something or other. If I manage that, I can go in again and rejoice in the 6,000 score.

And, of course, I could share something with my online friends - or even (wow) actually have a chat with them. Or even switch off the computer and go and see someone.

What a thought.