I can't escape my past

I recently joined Facebook. I was reluctant to join. Like most people in my generation, I'm already spending too much of my day online. I have email, this blog, MySpace, and the entire world wide web for browsing. Did I really need another online addiction? It seems the answer is yes. I'm addicted. I need the internet.
One of the things I've noticed is that online networks such as MySpace and Facebook end up being just another medium of communication with my current social network. Sure, it may be an additional way for me to keep in touch with my friends back in Texas. But is a comment as meaningful as a phone call or even an email? Probably not. For my friends who are in New York, why do I need to be friends with them in this online format? Is it a substitute for actually making plans with them? Am I replacing a phone call with the convenience of posting a short "we should get together" comment on their profile? Then there is the whole inherent popularity contest that seems to be happening. What does it really mean to have 250 friends on MySpace or Facebook? If I don't have hundreds of friends, what does this say about me?
Despite these concerns and issues with MySpace and Facebook, I have to say I've had some really positive experiences. It wasn't long after joining MySpace that I was reconnected with a friend from high school who I had regretted losing touch with. Since then, we've become good friends again. By this I mean, we call each other to share news. We hang out when I'm home. She's that friend I know I'll always have. (I have a feeling I might have blogged about this story before.)
Now after joining Facebook, I have had the same opportunity to find friends from my past. Again, some of them are people that I've really regretted losing touch with. However, one of the things I'm finding on Facebook (and to a lesser degree on MySpace) is the random connections between people. While looking through the friends of one person, I see people I've seen on other people's friends list. It's the whole 6 degrees connection thing. This was how I came face-to-face with my past. The part of my past I was trying to escape. The part that I can't escape. The part that was the catalyst for where I am now.
And he was only 2 random degrees away. And I mean very random.