A young friend who’s in college gave up Facebook for the spring semester, saying it was too much of a distraction, and that she needed to focus on her schoolwork. She told me recently that getting off of Facebook was a really smart move. She was an avid Facebooker.

Longtime readers know that I keep Facebook very much at arm’s length. I see the appeal, but I don’t have time for it. I never check it. Every day I approve friend requests automatically, but again, I never actually use Facebook, so I don’t know why I do it. The more I read about how Facebook compromises one’s privacy, the more I question whether I ought to be participating in it. The one thing I do use it for is the occasion that someone who doesn’t know my e-mail address wishes to write me — but even then it can be a long time before I get that message, depending on how often I check it. Oh, and sometimes it’s easier to write to old friends via FB than to try to remember their current e-mail address. So that’s another use.

I don’t hate Facebook, but I do sometimes wonder if I’m giving people a false impression of my availability by having an FB page. And, well, the privacy thing. What’s the point in being a part of something I never participate in, and possibly compromising my privacy? I’m feeling very Bartleby the Scrivener about Facebook these days. Maybe I should give it up for Lent. Simplify, simplify, et cetera.