Facebook Is Starting to Feel Like a 'Stalker'

Facebook is calling into doubt a new estimate that it has lost 6 million users in the US, but the numbers wouldn't surprise Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune one bit. She uses Facebook a lot herself and has what she calls a typical love-hate relationship with it. The negatives she cites aren't just the time-suck aspect and the "mixed blessing" of reconnecting with old friends. "The newer problem is that Facebook has come to feel like a stalker," she writes. "Not only does it do kinky things with your personal data, its little blue F box is more intrusive and insistent every day."

We're constantly being "begged" to like this or share that, or to check out what our network of friends has recommended. "Enough," she writes. "The ubiquity of that little blue box has gotten creepy. No wonder many Facebook users can't take it anymore." We can take steps to limit the hassles, but Facebook "has to treat us right" in return, she warns. "In this fickle high-tech age, we're always on the lookout for the next good thing, and there's always a next good thing.' (More Facebook stories.)