Decisions, decisions

A few years ago, some incredibly creative (and now wealthy) individuals came up with the idea of using the power of the internet to create places where people can keep up with what their friends/acquaintances are doing on an almost constant basis. There are a variety of different uses for these places, some which have added to our lives and some which simply suck our time away. There are people like me who mostly use social networking sites out of boredom while trapped at a desk all day, there are people who use them to publicly communicate with others, (it should feel weird listening in on a conversation between two people, but its become a completely natural part of our culture) then there are people who use them to detail every little thing that's going on in their lives for anyone who stumbles on their site to see.
I heard an interesting argument today in defense of the latter group. The short of it was basically that we are a naturally communal species, and our culture (especially in larger cities) has drawn us away from each other. At one point, we knew everything about the people around us. We lived in such close proximity that everyone knew what each other was eating for dinner, whether or not someone had a bad day, who was leaving whose house in the morning etc etc. These mundane details of everyday life kept us connected to each other and allowed a common empathy/purpose to evolve within our communities. With the distance our culture tries to drive between us, we strive as people to connect with each other on that very basic level, and that's why this idea has become such a popular one.
Now, I agree to some extent that this is true. However, I feel as though a public statement on what color pants one has decided to wear today does not necessarily draw a connection between people. I totally enjoy sitting on someone's living room couch and talking about their new shoes/what they had for lunch/what album they just bought/what came in the Netflix envelope today, etc. but that comes from actually being able to talk face to face with another person. The connection is that you're sitting with them ("visiting" is my grandmother's word) and sharing a common space while chatting about what's gone on in your life that day. This small talk evolved from the basic idea that we like being around each other, and we like sharing common goals and interests. I don't think that social networking is a substitute for this. It has its really great moments-when you find and connect with people you would otherwise have lost touch with and use it to keep in touch with them. Or when you use it to actually plan getting together and seeing someone face to face. But there are many drawbacks as well.
So the point is, what do I do? I don't want to get rid of the profile altogether but I don't feel as though its really serving much of a purpose in my life. Its not adding to who I am as a person, really. I like to see what's going on with my friends but when it comes down to it, I'd rather just have a conversation with them. However, what about when that's not possible? What about the people I care about who live far away or whose lives just don't line up enough with mine to sit down and have a conversation? Do I continue to deal with the risk that people are going to post information that I'd rather not have representing who I am in exchange for the ability to keep in touch? Do I continue to deal with the fact that are culture has taught us to expect immediate responses to things and allow the stress of "letting people down" by not following that rule continue weighing on me? This all seems ridiculous, but its part of the phenomenon. Eventually, I believe it will have to go. Until then, I'll continue to strive toward keeping connected with the people I care about in my life and hope that they'll forgive me for wanting to do it the old fashioned way.