Okay, I get it, some people don’t get Facebook. Friending people you haven’t seen in 20 years. When did “friending” become a verb? Writing on their wall? You wouldn’t go and spray paint on the wall of their house would you? No. So why would I go and do the same thing?

Because it’s fun to talk to people — that’s why.

Waiting until the reunion to see who is more of a fuck-up than you is a thing of the past. Facebook offers a fresher kind of connectivity, but there’s more to it than that. Consider how many people you meet in your lifetime. How many different paths your life has taken and, by extension, the different types of people you met.

Facebook gives advertisers the rare opportunity to actually know who they are targeting, because you keep in contact with every kind of person. Granted, it’s somewhat superficial, but then again so are people.

Consider how much time you spend thinking about absolutely nothing. What do you expect of Facebook besides the day-to-day? Reading 5 updates a day about how amazing Cassie’s dog is may seem arbitrary now, but you’ll reverse that standpoint when you’re brainstorming on a Milk-Bone ad. And until advertisers can do as Burger King does, until we can speak to Facebook users instead of at them, then we’ll never get beyond the day-to-day.

I will, on the other hand, recognize the disadvantage that the upper 20’s crowd and up faces. Facebook is my generation (literally, it started at my school, the year I entered college). It wasn’t awkward to receive a friend request from a person in high school that I hadn’t seen in 3 years. Have I rekindled our friendship? No. But it’s an opportunity. If I’ve learned anything in the past 20 years of education, it’s that you should never turn down an opportunity. And, wait, who did I learn that from? … The older generation!

And there is something to it. I’ve (unsuccessfully) reapproached an old feud with a friend. I got (tastefully?) hit on by my middle school crush. The real fact is, though, that all of those people are at my reach. And, thanks to Facebook, they aren’t very far.

As for the argument that time spent actually living life is lost, let’s be realistic. The only reason you’re not enjoying an activity is you. No one says you have to update your Facebook status every two minutes. But you could do it when the ski lift is stuck for 15 minutes. Do it when you’re waiting in line at the bathroom at the concert. Do it when you’re waiting for the subway. The average person spends 62 minutes a day waiting. The glory of updates are that they only take one minute.

But this brings up time for a distinction. Facebook versus Twitter versus LinkedIn. There doesn’t have to be a line drawn in the sand. But I’m going to go ahead and make one. Facebook is for friends. Twitter is for information. LinkedIn is for business.

Different social networks have different rules and therefore belong in different places. My Executive Creative Director should not be suggesting that we be Facebook friends. Unless you want to see drunk pictures of me with my friends. And I should have the right to publish those (to the extent that my Facebook profile is set on super secret privacy settings).

Until we have (or had) that kind of relationship in everyday life, don’t expect me to have it on the internet. And until I receive some kind of notoriety that risks someone going through the elaborate effort of finding my slightly embarrassing, but funny pictures to publish on page one, then I should hardly be chastised for living my life and having a sense of humor about it.

Otherwise, accept social networks for what they are. Share your everyday on Facebook. Share your insights on Twitter. And share your connections on LinkedIn. If you accept them for what they are, then you’ll find the value in each of them.