Sorry Sopho; no Facebook for him

Sorry, Sopho Bukia, it's nothing personal, but I'll have to pass.

Sopho, as far as I can tell, is a young journalist in the Republic of Georgia. I don't believe we've ever met. But it's been nine or 10 years since I was in Georgia, and I did do some work with two newspapers where Sopho has been employed.

As I said, it's nothing personal.

The problem is that Sopho's invited me to become her friend on Facebook.

And I don't do Facebook.

My Facebook avoidance has nothing to do with fear of technology. I've been working with computers for more than 30 years now. I've popped their hoods. I've worked on circuit boards. I've spent long hours trouble-shooting software bugs. And just last week I was fussing with a pesky networking problem in the newsroom. (All in all, that's not a bad record for a guy who was an English major.)

It has nothing to do with a fear of something new.

Much of my free time during the Winter Olympics has been spent building a family Web site and learning new softwares.

And it has nothing to do with an avoidance of the Internet or social networking sites.

While I'm not on Facebook I am on LinkedIn.

In Jay County, pretty much anyone who knows Mark Goldman of Pennville Custom Cabinetry is on LinkedIn. He's brought dozens of us into the fold.

And while the utility of LinkedIn may still be suspect in my mind, I have to admit that it's put me back in touch with former college classmates, former students, and colleagues I'd lost track of.

But in my mind, Facebook will always be for young people.

It was created originally for college-age kids, a sort of Internet version of the directory of incoming freshmen that colleges used to publish.

And while it has expanded to include everything from middle school students to retirees, it seems to me that the rest of us are intruding when we elbow in to the territory of teenagers and 20 and 30 year olds.

I know, I know, some of my best friends are on Facebook. (The CR is even on Facebook, though I didn't put it there. Younger members of the staff did.)

And I'm not judging the grandmother who keeps in touch with her grandchildren that way.

Okay, maybe I am.

For me, Facebook participation needs to be age appropriate.

And I've reached an age where it's not a good fit.

When I wear a baseball cap, I wear it with the bill in the front. Not in the back. Not jauntily to one side.

When I wear jeans, I wear them at my waist.

I have no tattoos and never will.

I do not text.

I will never Twitter.

I know better than to try karaoke.

If I ever own a phone that can take a picture, I suspect that I'll never learn how.

And, sorry Sopho, I do not do Facebook.

It's not you. It's me.

Maybe she can get in touch with me on LinkedIn.[[In-content Ad]]