I was very active in my local dial-up BBS scene in the mid-late 1990s, when I was a teenager. I even ran a dial-up BBS. Outside of school, I estimate that I pro

I was very active in my local dial-up BBS scene in the mid-late 1990s, when I was a teenager. I even ran a dial-up BBS. Outside of school, I estimate that I probably spent more time online than socializing with my friends IRL. (In real life.) BUT: I have much more vivid memories, and better bonds, with my friends. This is partially because we spent a lot of time together in school, and because we actually bonded. Although I had online friends, and I took the time to meet some other BBS people IRL, I never developed any real bonds with them. One of my very active BBS users attended the same college as me. We met a few times, but never rekindled our online bond. This made me realize that my online bonds are more like a hobby than a real lifelong friendship; much like at-work friendships that fizzle out after a job change. Needless to say, a few years ago I generally dropped out of Facebook; the hobby (Facebook) was getting in the way of my relationships. The people I care about either don't post on Facebook, or Facebook seems to make me angry at them.