At first, I was daringly skeptical of Facebook.

The whole idea of “social media” seemed, at the time, disconnected and impersonal, far more media than social.

But managing my first “career-job,” starting to lay the foundation for a family and a decreasing affinity for nightlife has left me swapping more evenings on the town for evenings on my couch.

And with plenty of time to rediscover Facebook.

After a short-lived flirtation around the time the network launched in 2004, I was out of the loop until a couple of years ago. When I came back, it was like Christmas morning.

Initially, an email address ending in “.edu” was required for The Social Network. I reentered the fold in 2010 delighted to find everyone and their mother (and mine, after I recently relented to her requests) was now part of the Facebook generation.

According to Facebook’s own statistics, the network had 845 million monthly active users and 483 million daily active users at the end of Dec. 2011. Around 80 percent of those come from outside the U.S. and Canada.

Sure, it was fun catching up with people from high school and my childhood who had moved on to colleges and were pursuing various career paths. But college students show only a thin slice of the cross-section of society and for the most part have a shared set of experiences.

Not the case once the exclusivity is removed from the equation.

Now, a quick scroll of the news feed offers more entertainment than I could have ever imagined when only students populated my friends list.

What ever happened to that guy who was dismissed from the football team for repeated disciplinary problems and left school? Playing in the NFL, waving hundred dollar bill fans and sharing rap mixtapes, of course.

The kid who used to crack racist jokes in seventh grade? Still in pursuit of a four-year degree, four years after the “chink” writing this column finished his.

From stalking exes to reconnecting with that influential teacher or coach, from hundreds of birthday wishes and condolences to memes with furry animals, Facebook continues to change the way we interact and view relationships.

And all from the comfort of the couch.