In Which There Is Hope In The Face Of Change

There has been a lot of talk about change recently.

Unless you've been living under a rock (or over the age of 30), you are no doubt aware that Facebook has changed its format. And from all the status updates I've been reading, this is a BIG deal. Apparently, people really, really don't like these changes. I guess I can understand why: if there is anything that binds us together as a generation, it is Facebook. But please: before we all resort to the ultimate act of Facebook civil disobedience and join the "1 million members against the New Facebook" Facebook group, maybe we should look at a few of the reasons why we should just move on with our lives.

Now, I should probably preface by saying that in general, I don't like change (see: leaving college, starting real life). I prefer things to be familiar. But if I'm given enough time to get used to the idea of an impending change before it happens, I can usually pull through alright (see: leaving college, starting real life). The point I'm trying to make in relation to Facebook is this: unless you haven't left the safety of that rock (or were born before 1978), you knew this change was coming. For at least a month now (maybe two, or longer?) Facebook has been advertising at the top of the page that it was going to make the switch. They even afforded us the opportunity to try it out. So even though everything is new and scary, we knew it was going to be that way. Let's chalk that up as a positive.

Also, this isn't the first time Facebook has changed. The way Facebook has been up until now is different from the way it was when it first started in 2004, and together we've made it through even the most drastic of changes, such as the addition of the News Feed in 2006. I know we can get through it this time around. And while I'm can't say I'm totally into the new format, I can say this: when my number finally came up a few days ago and I logged on to a whole new Facebook world, I felt at peace with the change. Yes, I'll have to re-learn how to navigate the site to find exactly what I'm looking for, and I'm not really looking forward to that at all. I chose to look on the bright side, though: maybe now that everything's changed and I don't know where things are, I won't spend as much time keeping track of the lives of people I haven't spoken to since high school.

But I wouldn't count on it.