What if Facebook ceased to exist right at this moment....POOF!

Last night, a friend posted this status on Facebook: If Facebook stopped right this second: Do you have the important people in your life? On a daily basis do you have access to them to tell them 'you’re important to me' and a way to communicate with them outside of this medium? Just wondering. And in turn, it really got me wondering.

I posted the other day about how people choose to use social media, but really, what if it stopped right this second? For many people, Facebook is their means of friendship. It is the way they say their "hello's", "how are you?", "what's up?" It is the way they keep up with one another and how they invite people to parties and get togethers. It is how they wish one another happy birthday, happy anniversary, good morning, and good night. In the year 2013, there is a serious lack of personal, face to face, or phone to ear, interactions. If Facebook stopped right this second: Do you have the important people in your life? On a daily basis do you have access to them to tell them 'you’re important to me' and a way to communicate with them outside of this medium? Just wondering.

I am just as guilty as the next person for failure to always pick up the phone and call. I find it is so much easier to send a text or a Facebook message, especially when I know the person is on their social media page a lot. But when I saw my friend's status last night, it made me stop in my tracks, take a step back, and say, "WHOA!" Her status came on the heels of a wonderful dinner date I had with a friend of mine last evening. It was a wonderful outreaching of friendship that landed us at Joey B's in Palmerton. It is a great little spot, with super food, excellent pricing, and fantastic atmosphere! It felt great to be sitting there, face to face, talking about everything and anything! It was nice not to worry about status updates, commenting on things, or typing something and having someone take it the wrong way. It was a fabulous moment of friendship that really made me appreciate, and be even more thankful for, the friendship that we have.

If Facebook stopped right this second: Do you have the important people in your life? On a daily basis do you have access to them to tell them 'you’re important to me' and a way to communicate with them outside of this medium? Just wondering. I started to take a look at the important people in my life and I realize that IF, at this exact moment in time, Facebook ceased to exist, I would miss it for the wonderful opportunity to get back in touch with many of my high school classmates that I truly have missed over the years. I'd miss seeing some of the daily humor that appears in my newsfeed. I'd miss reaching out to people through the Think Thankfully Facebook page (Click! Like! Share! Enjoy!). And I would miss posting my Think Thankfully end of the day status updates. BUT.......I would also be able to get in touch with nearly all of my Facebook Friends who mean the world to me. I do not need social media to keep my friendships intact. Without getting too ahead of myself, I truly think that my friends and family members know just how much they mean to me without needing Facebook to prove it.

The lyrics to Garth Brooks' song, If Tomorrow Never Comes, has been echoing through my head as I sit here writing this morning. While the song is basically about his love for his female counterpart and questioning whether or not she knows how he feels about her, the last lines resonate with a loud chorus in my head: So tell that someone that you love, Just what you're thinking of, If tomorrow never comes.

If tomorrow never comes, if Facebook stopped existing right at this moment, do your important people know just how you feel about them? Don't wait to tell anyone your feelings, tomorrow is promised to no one!