To FB or not to FB

Well, the first step is admitting it. I've joined Facebook.

How did it all start? Someone, who shall remain nameless, wanted me to look up people we knew so we could stalk their profiles. And for that, we had to create a profile. This was supposed to be a fake id, that I was supposed to delete afterwards we'd find what we were after, whatever that was. It's not important now. What matters is, I'm still on it. Shock, horror. After hearing about this Myspace/Facebook thing, I thought, millions of people can't be wrong.

Well maybe they are. I'm in two frames of mind about this whole business. So here, forthwith, I present my cases for and against FB:

For:

• Anyone can join and it's mostly free.
• It's a timewaster with literally thousands of things to do.
• It's more interactive than any other online application.
• Keeps you in touch with people you know.

Against:

• Anyone can join.
• It's a timewaster and encourages procrastination.
• There are too many applications that all require access to your personal information.
• There's no privacy, facebook tracks everything you do.
• You feel obliged to update it every so often and it's a hassle.
• Facebook only suspends your account, even though you think you've deleted it permanently.
• It encourages spamming.
• Some applications require payment, eg. for virtual gifts.
• Keeps you in touch with people you wouldn't normally associate with (to build your "friends" count or for fear of offending them).
• It encourages people to keep tabs on each other.
• Everything on FB is pretty much pointless.

There you have it. There are probably more pros that I haven't thought of, but damned if that's not the gist of it as far as I'm concerned.

Will I be deleting my profile then? Hmm, that is the question.