“Social networking has robbed us of our nostalgia”

December 18th, 2011

Do we really need high school reunions anymore, when everything we could possibly need to know is on Facebook?

But for those who always pictured their reunion as an episode of “Where Are They Now?” — a chance to see who’s done well, who’s gone downhill and who would like to apologize — the entire institution feels a bit deflated now that, thanks to Facebook and similar sites, nobody really has to lose touch anymore.

“Social networking has robbed us of our nostalgia,” said Michael Fox, who attended his 20-year high school reunion in November at a bar in Larchmont, N.Y. Mr. Fox, a New Rochelle High School graduate who lives in Midtown, said he attended his reunion to see the adult version of his classmates. But he was disappointed to find there was little he didn’t already know because of Facebook.

“Even as a borderline user of social networking, I have a pretty good grasp of where people are, what they do, their family life, etc.,” he said. “So a lot of the mystery of the traditional reunion was missing.”

June 2012 will be my 10-year high school reunion from Staten Island Tech. I have no desire to go. I am FB friends with most of the people in my class (about 180 people), and I generally know what they’re up to.