Do you know the guy from the movie Avatar? Sam Worthington, the star who plays Jake Sully, the wheel-chair bound marine, who has been gracing all kinds of red carpets the world over, is a friend of mine.

But at this point I should confess: I've never met Sam face-to-face. He's, err, a facebook friend. In fact, despite the fact that my presence on the Facebook site is mostly just that, a presence, I can count among my 150 "friends" the US President Barak Obama, Bono of U2 and our Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

This is the new world communication: letters, phone calls and e-mails are no more the normal methods of communication. Instead there's Facebook, a social network website where tittle-tattle, ideas, invitations, photos, personal information and business are exchanged, with the added bonus of an unlimited audience.

At the time of writing, this social network site has more than 400 million active users. It is estimated that more than 40,000 users are Maltese, a good 10 per cent of the population. Globally more than three billion photos are uploaded to the site each month. And according to the site statistics, the average user has 130 friends on the site and spends more than an hour per day on Facebook.

How true is this, I asked, in a posting on my FB profile. Faye Bonnici, 22, Marketing Assistant, replied: "I have it on my phone, I just go through the news feed, quickly check the inbox then close it. I'd say it adds up to about an hour a day for me."

Monique Troise Brosse, 24, Administrator, replied saying: "I do not spend hours. During the week I keep it open all day long and just check it every now and then."

However not all companies allow Facebook access at work, many considering it a time waster. Most users are going home to spend hours after work at their computers again, this time to socialise. Which begs the question: are we swapping handshakes and hugs for keystrokes? Is social networking diluting real-life relationships?

Brenda Murphy, senior lecturer in media and cultural studies at the University of Malta, says that the coffee shops around campus that have free WiFi offer an insight into the effects of facebooking: "You will see groups of friends, sitting together, drinking coffee together, but all 'talking on facebook' to others - and not actually talking to the people in front of them".

According to Dr Murphy, there seems to be, among students, an over-developed sense of Facebook's place in our lives. "I do question what is driving the need to 'update your status' every hour or day and wonder what is the motivation for this," she said.

But many do not believe that our capacity for social interaction will be forever stunted. Coryse Borg, 35, actress and writer and daily user of FB, says that thanks to Facebook, she has got in touch with lots of old friends whom she hadn't spoken to in years. It has not affected her social life: "I am just as sociable as ever, I just am more informed!" She also communicates with her partner over FB: "Yes, sometimes we do - mainly when we both comment on a photo, or when I want to surprise him by saying something nice about him in my status."

Facebook also seems to be encouraging a disturbing competitiveness around friendship: the more friends you have, the better you are. Dr Murphy says that among many social network users there seems to be a "game of stamp collecting" going on. "How many "friends" have you collected? This aspect of 'facebooking' is superficial and an enormous amount of time and energy is taken up chasing these 'stamps'. Maybe it would be better to go for a walk, a game of squash or a cup of coffee and have a meaningful conversation with a real-time friend instead of a virtual one," she said.

It seems that this past year, online and offline have merged. We have unconsciously become more relaxed about the internet and we don't consider that things we put online are there for ever, relics that will never go away. Some couples are known to have facebook spats - squabbling and arguing online for all to see.

Sociology researcher Rebecca Gatt, writing recently in the Times said: "People are hesitant to give other people's mobile numbers without firstly obtaining consent but little do people worry about privacy before they upload a personal photo including a group of people on Facebook. Besides, are we aware that the content uploaded with the date and time registered on the terminal used can reveal a lot of information to our employer and superiors? Or to prospective employers?"

And it is not only young people who are logging in. According to the European Interactive Advertising Association, 26 per cent of Europeans in the over-55 age bracket visit a social-networking site at least once a month. In fact the past year has seen a 12 per cent jump in these "silver surfers".

Alfred Chetcuti, 75, is one of them. He was dawn into it by his grandchildren: "We were together for the weekend and they spent the whole time on Facebook, trading animals for Farmville (an online game through which you can take care of your virtual farm). I was really fascinated."

And so, onto the Farmville phenomenon, the game available for all Facebook members. Luke Camilleri, 12, who spends an average of half an hour a day on FB, closely monitored by his mother, said: "Most of my friends are on Facebook because of Farmville. I like adopting animals and having my own farm without having to do a lot of hard work."

This is of great concern to Luke's mother who worries about the fact that Luke uses Facebook, but as all his friends used it, she felt she would have been overprotective to stop him: "I did not want him to feel that he was different from his friends." She monitors him constantly and thoroughly but still worries about the possibility of his unintentionally accessing inappropriate material pasted on the accounts of other "friends".

Dr Murphy expressed concern about peer pressure on children and young adults to use sites like Facebook but believes we should all be pulling the same rope: "I think we need to give parents permission to say no. Schools can be very influential in this. Encouraging parents to say no and educating the young users around 'mature screen use' would help many parents who may not be sure about 'taking a stand'."

Most people interviewed in the course of this article seem to agree on one thing - that if you're not careful Facebook can become very addictive. And that is ever so true.

It has taken far too long to write this piece because I was stopping and checking my profile every half hour on the off chance that I'd get a message from my muse, Sam Worthington. And then I start wondering, what if it is not Sam at all? So I send him a message: "Sam is it really you?"

Four days later, I get a message in my inbox: "Nope, it's a fan group."

Facebook for the uninitiated

Facebook started off as an in-college network for students at Harvard. It graduated to other universities in the US and Britain. The students became postgraduates and carried their Facebook activities into the workplace. And then suddenly, in September 2006, the site opened up to all internet users.

How it works: register free online, post up a picture of yourself and some other info, then look for friends. You can browse other people's friend lists, or befriend complete strangers. You can update your "status" telling everyone what you're up to, anytime.

Facebook also offers you "apps", software applications, providing additional information and entertainment to keep you hooked. Users can send virtual gifts, take silly quizzes and join online groups.

Addict traits

According to CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, you can tell that you've become a Facebook addict, when you:

1. Lose sleep over Facebook;

2. Spend more than an hour a day on Facebook;

3. Become obsessed with old loves;

4. Ignore work in favour of Facebook;

5. Break out into a cold sweat at the thought of getting off Facebook.

What is Farmville by Luke, 12 years

"In simple language Farmville is about a Farm. You buy land and then you plant and sow seeds. Then you buy tractors and buildings and animals. You make money by harvesting your crops and milking your cows and goats. You send gifts to other people and there are limited edition items like Reindeer for Christmas. It's fun because it's like you have your own farm. You need to play it regularly because if you don't go into it your crops will wither and you won't get any money."

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