How many facebook friends do you have... Pope Benedict wants to know!

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... My number is currently a paltry 179, but Pope Benedict XVI wants you to know that there is such a thing as too many!  He spoke this week about social networking, and lauded it as a "noble concept" that should be used carefully to ensure that our understanding of "friendship" doesn't get trivialized by society. 

I never really thought about it before, but I think he's absolutely right.  Especially for our younger generations.  Some facebook friends are "friends", but seriously, who are we kidding.  And what, exactly, does friendship really mean to kids who are growing up in our MySpace/facebook world?

So, the Pope wasn't as "doom and gloom" as I'm making it out to be, but I really believe he's got a good point.  I love facebook as much as the next guy, but he wisely reminds us to get out, and foster meaningful relationships, with real people.

Here's the text of his message as reported in the Boston Globe:

"The concept of friendship has enjoyed a renewed prominence in the vocabulary of the new digital social networks that have emerged in the last few years. The concept is one of the noblest achievements of human culture. ... We should be careful, therefore, never to trivialise the concept or the experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development."

... And that was all he said... But, to be fair, he really had to leave because he had to throw a snowball at, or give a cupcake to, or send a fun card to, or superpoke, any of the 36 friends who just took a movie quiz, as he climbed the scramble ladder!

Scott.