A reader personalizes the post:
Today is my birthday, and I was hit hard by how lonely I've become in the the age of Facebook. I got like 57 birthday wishes on FB – many from people I barely know. These messages depressed me because they were so meaningless. Meanwhile, I got a record low number of phone calls – or even personal emails – from friends. Part of this was because, hey, they could just post "Happy Birthday! Have a great day!" on FB. Many of my real friendships have faded away in the Internet age.
I'm a freelance writer, and I used to be on the phone all day long interviewing sources and, in between, chatting with my freelancer friends around the country. Now, we all just email each other – sources don't want to be bothered with interviews ("Can you just email me the questions?" is a request I get all the time) and most of the time I'm lazy enough to comply. There's no conversing, no small talk, no schmoozing, so I never get to know anyone.
But this hasn't just happened with sources; it's happened with my friends, too. We used to just pick up the phone and, you know, talk. Before caller ID and cell phones, you never knew who'd be on the other end of the line, and it was usually a pleasant surprise. Now, we just email, and we've lost our connection.
Interestingly, with one exception, the only phone calls I got today were from relatives and from friends I made three decades ago, back in school. The more recent friendships I've developed have not withstood the FB/email era. On my birthday, my phone used to ring off the hook. Today, even my sister emailed me. Though at least she didn't post "Happy Birthday! Have a great day!!!" on Facebook.
The Dish 