The cold world of cyberspace

I've said it before, and after reading a sad story in the newspaper today I feel like reiterating it: Facebook is a rather sad place.
This girl had over a 1000 friends on her Facebook. She was feeling depressed over a failed relationship and announced on Christmas Day in her status that she had taken pills and was about to die.
Several of the friends on her list lived within walking distance of her apartment, yet no one did anything. Instead they ridiculed her by replying to her status with mocking statements.
The next day this girl was found dead in her apartment.
Sad isn't it. Over 1000 friends on Facebook and she dies alone without anyone even calling her to find out if her statement was true or not.
For the most part it's all a sham, and I think we all know that. Only a handful, if that, of the people on my list are truly friends. However I don't dwell in some kind of illusion as to what the others are. I'm not on there in the attempt of establishing great connections and make long-lasting friendships. It started out as a fun thing and has turned into a bit of a nuisance that I don't quite seem able to leave. It does provide a useful tool in keeping in touch with certain long-distance friends.
Other than that it's nonsense. I don't really need it. It's too easy to press the "like" button and type "Happy Birthday! Have a great day!", "Awww...feel better"!, and such. I think a lot of the time we do it without any real thought behind it, almost automatically, like wiping ourselves after we go to the washroom or turning off the light when we leave a room.
I know, it's just meant to be a fun thing. Why take it so seriously.
Well sometimes I feel like stopping to think about why I do the things I do and what the purpose behind it is. I suppose the answer is that it's just lighthearted enjoyment. Just a way to pass the time. Modern society's version of socializing.
Whatever happened to letter writing letters, or phoning, or even emailing? People rarely even do that anymore. Although I shouldn't complain about not receiving any emails since I fared much better in the creative writing department before the internet came along.