We have become a society in which friendliness is a rare quality to possess.

I give a big thanks to the World Wide Web.

It's said that you can't judge a person on a first impression, but can you judge them on a first impression followed by a few hours of stalking on Facebook.com?

We have come to the point in which we can look up people's personalities on a Web page — no questions asked — instead of letting people share themselves with us. Relationships are no longer intriguing. We are lazy. After all, why ask a person a question when you can just Google it?

When we meet someone we request his or her friendship via an online networking site, such as MySpace.com. Have we come to the point at which we have to request a friend like it is some binding agreement of eternal dedication?

Then we proceed to look up that person's ex-girlfriends and 580 tagged pictures.

"Oh, he's doing that in that one single picture out of a million? That's really weird. Cross him off the potential relationship-material list."

Curiosity is fine. But we are far too greedy with it. We can see just about everything people like and dislike, what they wear and who they talk to with a mouse and a computer screen. This can all be done with features such as Facebook's news feed that send us continual alerts to updates and posts friends make.

We don't have to make voice to voice conversation anymore to know what is going on in each other's lives.

And then we judge.

Growing up, I thought we were supposed to find out a person's idiosyncrasies through the nit and grit of the first few hangout sessions. Yes, those first few conversations may be awkward. But eventually, a beautiful budding relationship may emerge over time.

I will admit I'm guilty of the whole creepy aspect. In fact, I am "friends" with about 10 of Hoover High School's football players and cheerleading girlfriends from the MTV show "Two-A-Days." I honestly didn't even think it was weird — until I realized their lives are already on TV. Is it seriously necessary for me to see their favorite quotes and what they are looking for in a friend? Probably not.

Oh well. "Add as friend." Click.

It's distant infatuation. We can admire from afar. It takes little to no work.

We are afraid of what we don't know and scared of the element of surprise. Relationships used to start with liking a person, then finding out later that, yes, maybe they have some quirks, but the relationship is already past the point where it would matter.

I'm just waiting until the time when talking without a keyboard and a screen of words becomes awkward.

We're already halfway there. Hop on a bus and count how many people sit there with their iPods on and heads down.

Unless, of course, you got on with a friend or happen to be lucky enough to spot someone you know sitting across the bus. Wait, just kidding. You don't know that person. You only saw him or her in a friend of a friend's pictures. Good catch. You have saved yourself the embarrassment of an awkwardly unrequited smile and wave.

Now take those same strangers on the bus and throw them in a house party with a few beers in each of them and view the results. Is it still awkward? I doubt it.

Do we need that liquid courage to have a decent conversation that probably won't even be remembered?

It seems we do, until, of course, the Facebook friendship request is sent at 8 a.m. the next morning, when you're up checking to see how many people have posted extremely important comments or pictures during the six hours you were asleep.

I can't think of anyone who would be disturbed if the person next to them started a friendly little conversation on the 10-minute ride to the bus station.

Yet we still avoid conversation and friendliness in general.

I'll admit I'm not a big fan of surprises. But, most likely, if you let a relationship develop the way it should, you won't be shocked by anything too big. And if you are, chances are you could not have found it out on Facebook in the first place.

The Internet doesn't need to be a mediator in order to have meaningful friendships.

I know it's great that you can sit there for hours and think of a witty responses to someone without the other person actually knowing how hard you're trying, but it's getting to be slightly pathetic.

What's next? Internet dinner dates? Watching a movie alone on the Internet while your friend is doing the same in his or her room, then chatting about it online like you were actually together? We may be close.

And for all you know, that kid you're silently sitting next to on the bus while staring out the window pretending to admire the strategic placing of bricks on the passing building could be your future hubby.

So let's calm the creepiness, stop the stalking and just courageously converse with one another.

Colleen Maxwell is a State News intern. Reach her at maxwel79@msu.edu.