Although I love social media-ing, I completely understand when people complain about Facebook status updates offering little more than trivial tidbits from peoples’ painfully boring lives. It’s updates like "my kid’s poop is kinda runny today" that make some Facebookers hide their "friends" or turn to the arguably less-personal Twitter.

"I like Facebook, but I wish there was a Facebook for people without kids," says Devin Michaels, a philosophy student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee who lives on the East Side.

Other folks might not write about their adorable or not-so-adorable kids, but they insist on posting "my life is perfect" updates, which suggests that Facebook is a way to document our lives the way we wish they were, not how they really are. For example, I know that a friend is unhappy in her marriage, yet she writes, "My husband is the most thoughtful man on the planet. I love you more than ever, honey!"

Hence, I often refer to Facebook as "Fakebook."

But once in a while, a very brave person writes something extremely real. Recently, a friend who is usually very creative and upbeat with her posts, wrote this about raising an autistic son:

"Occasionally we get to experience a ‘season of calm’ with (son’s name), when the bear inside him sleeps. This is NOT that season. And despite happy, funny posts, between me and you, we're struggling. This is unknown territory and I do not see the light at the end of this particular tunnel. That's the harsh truth, and I'm sorry it's not cute and entertaining."

I was so moved by this, I stopped and read it three times. It made me wish Facebook were always more real, that people were always more real. But I know not everyone feels that way, and many people do not want "TMI" (too much information) in their real life or their cyber life.

"I want people to say or share things that are funny or interesting to me," says Michaels. "Not depressing or mundane."

Personally, I like to use Facebook and Twitter as a mini blog – as well as a way to share information – so, knowing that many people don’t care that my kid learned to ice skate backwards or I woke up feeling glum, I decided to subject only those who really know me to the possibly dull details of my private life.

A few months ago, I started a second Facebook page because my first Facebook profile has 2,400 friends, many of whom I don’t really know but are connected with through my numerous very high-profile jobs. It turns out, I really enjoy having both pages: one that's more professionally-oriented with hints of my personal life and the other is way more intimate.

This was a good move for me. I have found that Facebook can actually be a support tool, and that just like in real life, people respond to sincerity, even if it’s a little uncomfortable for them. I have posted about death, divorce, loneliness, depression, stupidity and a litany of other minor details I think way too much about.

Just this past week, I wished my deceased father a Happy New Year (The Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah started Wednesday at sunset) on Facebook, and I'm not exactly sure why, but it made me feel a little better just putting it "out there."

Most of the time, social media is all about snark and humor and sharing information, and I enjoy that immensely, but once in a while, Fakebook gets real.