Last Sunday night there was a story on Australia's "60 Minutes" program about the phenomena which is Facebook.com. I was, of course, already aware of Facebook. I do not, after all, live on another planet. However, I had thought of it as just another way of making new friends on the Internet. This was something I really didn't feel any need of as I have an e-pal I've been communicating with most days for the past few years and I also have lots of contact with other writers through writing on Helium in particular - and Associated Content as well.

It really hadn't occurred to me that this was a particularly good means of getting in touch with old friends, with whom one had not had contact in many years. As soon as "60 Minutes" was over, I couldn't get onto Facebook quickly enough. There were a number of individuals I had been wanting to track down for as long as a couple of decades and I was very hopeful I might find them quickly by means of this website.

As it is, the family I particularly had in mind have proven to be as elusive as ever - though I'm still hoping that eventually I may find them through Facebook. However, in the meantime I have been just about blown away by my experiences in the past week or so. I have linked up with a number of old friends and am getting new responses every day. I am not an excitable person by nature, but this is one of the most exciting things that's happened to me in a long time.

I must admit it's highly addictive and very time-consuming. I have realized the past few years that I have an addictive personality and can easily become too absorbed in various Internet pastimes. Such addictions may seem tame and comparatively harmless beside the likes of alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex. Nevertheless, they can certainly take over one's life, to the exclusion of other activities that ought to have their place in one's priorities as well.

There can be no doubt that the Internet in general, and particularly such websites as Facebook and MySpace have taken hold of many people and consume a large amount of their daily lives. While there can be great personal value in these experiences, naturally balance is important in people's activities. This can prove difficult to achieve when Internet hobbies effectively become addictions.

In recent days I've found I've felt like I have been on some kind of high from this experience. I haven't really stopped to analyse exactly why it's so exhilarating to contact old

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