Has Social Media Gone Too Far?

I've touched briefly on my confusing fling with social media in this blog before. I'm basically addicted to the internet. Addicted to emailing, addicted to web surfing, addicted to Facebook, twitter, and a whole slew of blogs. I have spent hours upon hours on my computer completely unaware of the time passing by. I know things about people that I have no business knowing. Hell, I've even solved a crime via Myspace before. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, but this morning everything changed.

I found out via Facebook that my Grandmother died.

I cannot tell you the feelings of disbelief that washed over me as I learned of her death from my new best friend, the computer. I knew before my Dad, her own son knew. Do I call him to tell him? Do I just wait for the phone call? How do I function with this unwanted knowledge? I ended up calling my sister and we decided we should just wait for the phone call. Sure enough, 45 minutes later, I got the news on the phone.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this. It is so 21st century. I mean, I would have much rathered to hear of this in person, but at the same time, social networking allows you to find support in places you didn't even know you had. But it still begs the question: Is social media getting out of hand? Does it intensify life or just complicate it? I'm really not sure of the answer.