Technology today

Jenny has not returned my calls in roughly a year. She has, however, sent me a poinsettia, poked me and placed a gift beneath my Christmas tree. She has done all these ____, courtesy of Facebook, the social-networking ____ on which users create profiles, gather "friends"  and join common-interest groups. Although Jenny has three children and rarely finds time for visits, phone calls or even e-mail, the full-time mother in upstate New York ____ updates her status on Facebook. After 24 years, our friendship is now relegated to the ____ world, filtered through Facebook.

Facebook provides a constant flow of information via short updates from everyone a user ____: a distant cousin is glad he skipped the cheeseburger, a colleague has a new book on sale; a close friend is engaged.

Yet for many users, Facebook somehow remains distinctly personal. Although social-networking sites typically encourage connections among ____ where people converge through common interests where the whole point is to greet new faces, Facebook is geared  toward helping people ____ existing connections. The site serves as a self-updating address book, keeping users ____ no matter their geographical shifts.

But I can't help wondering. If for some reason Facebook suddenly ____ to exist, would people like Jenny revert to phone calls or visits, or would they lose touch altogether?

I probably won't find out. Instead, I gave in. Last week I sent Jenny a note - through Facebook, naturally - requesting a get-together. She accepted. When we met up, it seemed like we were closer than i had thought. I knew about Jenny's son's part in the school play, her sledding expedition and what she'd cooked for that big birthday dinner - ____ we would have shared if we still lived in the same neighbourhood and talked regularly, the inane and intimate details that add up to life. The constant stream of data is a digital form of closeness.