Why I Love Facebook

I have spent almost seven years of my life on Facebook, and throughout that time I've had a love/hate relationship with the site.  So here are some reasons why I'm currently in the "love" phase of my relationship with Facebook:

1. Most of my family live close by, but my mom has one cousin that lives far away, and her five children and their families are scattered across the country.  Their grandparents have passed away, so they really have no reason to travel back to SC.  Because of Facebook, at the very least I am able to see their kids grow up and generally have an idea of what's going on in their lives all the time.  I don't know when/if I will see them again, but I think Facebook will make the in-person relationship a lot more comfortable because we are already somewhat up-to-date on one another.  I already have an idea of what these people are like and what's happening with them which makes me feel much more at ease and gives me an idea of good topics of conversation.  
2. I have twin cousins that are 6 months older than I, and (long story) we hadn't seen each other in over 15 years, even though we live in the same town.  I knew at least one of them was married, so I wasn't sure I could find them on Facebook.  After looking for awhile, I found both of them a few months ago, and we recently got together again for the first time since we were really little, this time with our own kids.  I seriously thought I would never see them again, but now we are Facebook and face-to-face friends!  This brings tears to my eyes.
3. I am Facebook friends with Gus' two half-brothers who live in Greece.  I don't talk to them much, but it is much easier for Gus to write them quick messages and and pass information along messages to their dad.  They are able to look at pictures of Nathan and be a part of our lives in a way that would be impossible (at least not without a lot more effort) without Facebook.  
4. It is really nice for keeping up with major world events.  I'm usually not the first to find out about news because we don't have a TV, and I don't regularly read the news online.  Who knows when I would have found out about Osama bin Laden's death had it not been for Facebook? 
5. Some people are harder to get to know in person than others, and for those people Facebook comes in handy.  Sometimes communicating face-to-face can be really painful with certain people because of differences in personalities and interests, but Facebook can make it easier to break the ice with people who are harder to get to know. 
6. This is an interesting thing that I love about Facebook but I'm not quite so sure what to think about it.  It's really interesting how people deal with death in the age of Facebook.  I am Facebook friends with a young man who died suddenly during a routine surgery five years ago, and people still write on his wall or post pictures of him occasionally, mostly either on his birthday or the anniversary of his death.  It's really weird, but really interesting to see how people use Facebook to grieve.

Sure, you can waste a lot of time on Facebook without self-control, and if used in certain ways, it can lead to further self-absorption.  But I think for the most part, it enhances face-to-face relationships and provides an alternative relationship for those that can't be face-to-face.