Not long ago, Facebook could do no wrong. But, it's all gone a bit pear-shaped of late.
Perhaps it's just the sight of so many battered and bruised social networking junkies among us?
Millions of you - God only knows why - now feel compelled to update your Facebook status every five minutes: "I am opening a box of cornflakes" ... "I am eating a sandwich" ... "I am assembling a fondue set."
Of course, it started out innocently enough, didn't it? Maybe you'd while-away an hour or two at work each week playing "Scrabulous" with some long-lost chum from sixth-form...
But then came the dreaded 10-question quizzes: "Which historical character
are you?" "What is your Native American name?" "Which member of England's World
Cup 1966 winning squad are you?"
They pushed you over the edge. It wasn't long before Facebook became Face-hook. The biggest time-suck ever invented.
To add or not to add...
Then crazy people started emailing you to "add" them as friends. People you barely knew... really just old acquaintances of acquaintances. But you're nice, so invariably you'd accept their invitations.
Of course, you didn't anticipate they'd start posting crap on your "wall." Sending you daily warnings about some new government conspiracy, internet virus or paedophile ring.
Next, ex-girlfriends and/or boyfriends got in the act. Overnight, Facebook turned them into stalkers. They'd go online every day and stare at pictures of you for hours on end, refusing to accept it was over because you still had this "shared connection" through Facebook.
Eventually, you had to start deleting people. Basically, the whole Facebook experience just became one big downer.
Cyber bully
As if there weren't reason enough to abandon Facebook and its TMI collective already, this week brings YET ANOTHER reason to jump ship... bullies!
Last Friday, cyber bully Keeley Houghton, 18, of Malvern, Worcestershire, was sentenced to three months in a young offenders' institution after she posted a message on the site saying she would kill Emily Moore.
Apparently, on 12 July, Houghton updated her status on Facebook to read: "Keeley is going to murder the bitch. She is an actress. What a f**king liberty. Emily F**khead Moore."
Not exactly Shakespeare, but Houghton had a long-history of harassing and bullying Ms. Moore and clearly knew which buttons to press.
In 2005, she was convicted of assaulting her as she walked home from school. Two years later, she was convicted for a second time for kicking in Ms. Moore's front door.
The 12 July Facebook status update was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Jarred & jailed
Houghton reportedly blubbered her way through the trial. In addition to the three month jail sentence, she was issued with a restraining order. Moreover, she now holds the inglorious distinction of being the first person in Britain to be jailed for bullying on a social networking site.