HANOI – The Information Age, as filtered through the Internet, can sometimes seem more like the Misinformation Age. On Facebook, we get by with a little help from our “friends,” some of whom are more credible than others. On Facebook, of course, your self-selected network may include acquaintances, colleagues, family members, and business contacts as much as true, blue friends. You can also friend business entities, like a restaurant or a news outlet like Tuoi Tre (Youth).

That’s the world according to my Facebook – or rather, the worlds, since every Facebook network is as individual as you or me.

My Facebook world was somewhat colored by the fact that I covered Facebook as a reporter in the Silicon Valley, back when some media moguls still insisted it was just a passing fad. To enhance my reports, I was a bit promiscuous, casting for a wide net of “friends,” becoming engaged in its discussion for both fun and research.

On my Facebook the other day, I considered the humble-brag of a former colleague, a literary success, as he embarks on his next novel after having scored a sweet professorship. (Reaction: Admiration and envy.)

I was treated to photos from another former colleague at her brave new wedding. Both brides wore lovely white gowns. These ladies did not have grooms; they have each other.

My Facebook newsfeed also affords a window on Vietnam and Hanoi. Frequently I see reports from Tuoi Tre that I may have otherwise missed. (Do the Vietnamese really eat that much dog meat?)

Vietnamese friends update their circles on their travels and activities, often silly stuff, such as the photos a friend posted of the lychee martinis she and friends imbibed on the night before her big move to Europe. Sometimes I’ll use the Bing translate function to try to understand their comment, which are usually rendered nonsensical.

The group Hanoi Massive, lousy with expats, always seems in search of domiciles, English teachers and romance. I also get glimpses of Vietnam from an ex-American GI providing updates on his charity’s work in eradicating unexploded ordnance.

Early on, I thought the world according to Facebook might be a bit surreal, much as MySpace proved to be, but now I consider it a staple of digital life. To use Silicon Valley lingo, it is a “lean in” technology, not “lean back,” like television. You don’t have to just watch it. You are encouraged to contribute to it – to post items that you feel deserve more attention. You are essentially an editor in service of your Facebook network. You can address a pressing social issue or debate or share some entertainment or simply try to make people smile. And, of course, you are encouraged to comment – to merely press the “like” button, or tap out your reaction in some detail.

Facebook, I hear, has developed its own interesting culture within Vietnamese society. The younger Vietnamese, growing up in a digital world, keep exploring the possibilities – and the positive trend is toward greater communication, greater dialog, not less.

On my patch of Facebook, I’ve witnessed debates that grew nasty. Once or twice I probably threw some fuel on the fire. Some of my friends had un-friended other “friends” because the vitriol became too much. When one of my friends posts something stupid – snide arguments that climate change is a hoax, for example, or that President Obama coddles terrorists – I’m happy to mix it up.

When people are stuck in their echo chambers, some dissonance might make them think.