Happy Birthday from Facebook and 800 of your closest friends

So I realize I haven't kept up with this in a while, so I'm uploading some posts, most of which I wrote a while ago, but figure should all be featured on one blog, starting with this birthday post. Haha, and yes, my 21st birthday was back in May... oops! 

Last week I celebrated my 21^st birthday. It was a great weekend of champagne, friends and family, and I loved every moment of it. But once the helium balloons began to deflate and the remains of my chocolate-frosted cake were long-gone, I faced the plethora of “happy birthday!!” Facebook posts that overwhelmed my wall.

I may be one of the few people that doesn’t post a generic “thanks for the birthday wishes,” and instead, I still try to sort through them each one by one, thanking everybody and trying to catch up as much as a wall post allows. Well this year, I realized that while around 200 people had sent me their best on Facebook, I had only received a dozen-or-so texts and emails, maybe a handful of actual calls, and even fewer hand-written cards. And not to complain, (I realize that so many people acknowledging my day was amazing and I really was deeply touched), but I did note the irony that Facebook—“the social networking sensation”—was actually limiting the true personal interaction I had with my friends on my birthday.

And this isn’t the only way Facebook has changed our standards of staying in touch. How often will we click through to a long-distance friend’s page and rather than posting a “hi, what’s new?” we’ll just scroll through a couple, (fine, usually more than a couple), photos for a quick visual update. Better yet, how often do we avoid Facebook altogether and just call that long-distance friend?

And I’ll be the first to admit that I swear by digital media and spend an unhealthy amount of time on networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I’ll also admit that all too often, I'll lazily type out the generic “happy birthday” rather than make a personal call or mail a handwritten card. But I guess my question is, does a birthday wish via Facebook have the same affection and significance that a phone call does? Are we all just so busy, or are our social circles just so large that we can’t possibly remember or contact everyone for each birthday? Is the wall post a sign of the laziness or indifference that accompanies social networks of 800+ friends and acquaintances?!

What do you think?! Do you agree that Facebook has stolen some of the glitter of a birthday wish? Or do you think that Facebook’s birthday updates are actually helpful in keeping us in touch?!