Facebook-ing - Is it the New way of life?

Come to work...Hellos!hiis!greetings!goodmorningss!!....switch on the laptop...settle down...click on Mozilla firefox...check your Facebook account and its innumerable friend requests, events, photo comments and news feeds....smile a bit..laugh a bit...full attention for 1/2 an hour....click on Outlook express and check your official mails....
Is this a pattern that looks familiar to you? Welcome to the world of Facebooking and Social Networking.
The social networking bug bit all of us a few years back when Hi5 came into the virtual world and we found ourselves suddenly glued to the computer screen checking out long lost buddies and 'searching' for old crushes and ex-es. It was the in-thing and our inboxes were flooded with 'invites' or 'would you do fransip with me?' It got a bit annoying as there were too many bugs and glitches in the programme. There were no 'blocking' options. Slowly the Hi5 syndrome faded and Orkut burst on the scene with a vengence. It was the biggest networking website - everyone and anyone was on it. It even had a blocking option and privacy setting. Yet we recieved the unwanted 'franship' requests!! gosh! we even had a 'community' dedicated to it, which i was a member of (just to read the hilarious request messages sent by certain 'dudes'). I managed to reach out and add to my list of friends - a whole lot of buddies, whose faces i dont remember, but knew they existed. It had testimonials and fighting for a testimonial - me for you and you for me, was quite a common sight.
By this time, there were social networking sites mushrooming all over -- MySpace, Flickr, Wayn, ibibo etc. Each offered the same concept of networking, communities and photo sharing.
That's when someone heard of Facebook. It was not very well publicised, not very well marketed -- it was the 'word of mouth' publicity that worked wonders for it and slowly Facebook was building its roots in the internet world. When i decided to have a Facebook account, the first look gives an impression of -- confusion redefined! It had applications, wall posts, super walls, photo albums, virtual pets, drink sharing, food throwing etc etc etc. One had to spend over 10 days to get a hang of facebook. But once u did, it turned out to be a 'social addiction'. Getting on it, the first thing in the morning and checking your profile every 2 hours became a habit. Throwing Pork ribs, giggling at your Stripper Name, taking quizzes on what Friends Character you are ...owning a Pet named Ramu...sending mojitos early mornings to friends...giving awards to friends...playing word games...playing poker...seemed more important than devicing marketing strategies and checking what the Real World is upto!! For God's sake, i even have a 3-D pet puppy called 'Bugsy' who prances around on my screen every morning and plays 'bones' with me. I have tonnes of photo albums on my profile and change my profile picture every week! :) Status updates are another craze that everyone wants to keep as crazy as possible to grab that attention.
But i say, what is wrong in this? Am i committing some kind of social harakiri...as a colleague puts it "a playchild of the devil"! is it so? Am i spending too much time on it, instead of doing my work and browsing ibnlive.com? I dont know what the right answer is, but i can say one thing..it is 'in'...it is 'here to stay'...its getting better with the launch of the 'new facebook' (and unlike many i find it easier to use and it is more organized)...and its the best way to unwind and unload your stress when the boss has rapped your ass! I know about events, parties, global festivals, meet my friends, be connected in this age of fast and furious lives and most importantly... Do Not Get 'your eyes are heavenly..Can I Do Franship With You?' requests anymore.... isnt that just the closest you can get to virtual reality of sharing lives with your closed ones and acquaintances? Hail the Facebook-ers, I say!