h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As an older person who is introverted (perferring time alone or with a few close, intimate friends) I find facebook quite irritating. It seems to offer a rather immature world-view where your worth is measured by how many so called "friends" you have, and somehow, (perhaps by accident not design) it seems you have no choice but to play this competitive game.

If it is irritating to me, I wonder what it is like for many of the fine young creative( and highly creative people,like the people who made the web, are often socially detached, they have to be) thoughtful, sensitive young people who prefer the intensity & depth of close, intimate relationships.

I imagine it makes them feel like there is something terribly wrong with them, and worst of all the "whole world" (their supposedly "normal" extroverted classmates) can see there is something wrong with them on facebook.

Surprisingly "loners" or introverts often have have a more mature outlook on what connection means, they already see themselves as part of the big picture: humanity, and work quitely as scientists or artists to make a better world. Face book appears to present an immature outlook as normal, one in which the world revolves around "you", more often than not,the extrovert.

Somehow there needs to be some balance here, both extroverts and introverts should be encouaged to be themselves, feel mutual respect/understanding and contibute in their unique way. If this doesn't come from within facebook, which I think they have some resonsibility to do (because they are all powerful(or appear to be to the young)) it will have to be countered otherwise, I suspect this daft imbalance is already having very serious consequences in some cases.

Thanks BBC

Any particular way in which you would like Facebook to change things to solve its problems (which I would agree, are growing), or who do you think could step in for fb if they fail to act?