To Facebook or not to Facebook

'That is the question.' I did not take any notice of Facebook until I went to India some ten years ago and my somewhat-younger-than-me aunt complained that she couldn't get news to me or of me unless I put myself out there on FACE. So, after considerable heart-searching, I did.

And yes, Facebook is how I know what is happening to my Indian family. Births, deaths, marriages, jobs, get-togethers... Sometimes I have a sense of loss in that I am never part of any of this, that I don't even know the new generation - confident, up-beat, seeking enjoyment, having fun, in ways my generation would never have imagined. For instance, we did not go on holidays, we just went back home to family when we had time.

But now, I am getting more than a little upset about the presumptuousness of Facebook, the intrusions, the constant heigh-ho about birthdays of friends and acquaintances. So I made some rules of my own: I never respond to birthday prompts, I don't distribute friend-lists or seek friends...

I quickly erase the year-in-reviews and the unsolicited photos after they put up the photo of my son, who had died recently. It took me many days to get over that unexpected image. Leave me alone, I think.

The adverts annoy me, there are so many. The suggested posts and suggested friends irritate me. But I get priceless information about close friends and family. And there is the rub. I can't get rid of one without losing the other.

Fake news Trump style too. And sometimes THEY take me straight to a porn site. It would be large on my list to not see any news about Trump or BREXIT for a week or two. One way would be to abjure ALL screens for that time. Now, there's a thought. My kind of Lent.

So, for the moment, it's on with FACE for a while longer, but it's on probation. Watch this space, as they say.