Does Facebook Encourage Adultery?

It's official -- Facebook is the handiwork of the devil.

The latest application of this social-media tool gives a whole new meaning to being "poked" by an old friend: yes, I'm talking about sex. "Retrosex," to be exact.

The Boston Phoenix taps into this new erotic trend with an article about men and women in their mid-twenties and thirties hooking up with old high-school flames or friends, and rekindling romances now that they're all grown up.

Remember that guy from science class you were too afraid to ask to prom? Now you're brimming with confidence and maybe he liked you, too. A couple of emails and a few tipsy, late-night online chats and he admits that he always thought you were out of his league. Maybe you arrange to meet for drinks, and maybe drinks turn into dinner and ...

You can guess the rest.

This is all fine and dandy if you're footloose and fancy-free, but what happens when husbands and wives start looking up their first loves?

Before Facebook, you had to wait for your 20-year reunion to get a full-frontal look at the guy/girl who broke your heart. Now all it takes is a couple of clicks and there you are -- boom! -- face-to-face with your unresolved past.

Say you just happen to be goofing off, looking for the profile of your ex-boyfriend on a day when your husband forgot to pay the electric bill and refused to help you do the dishes. And say that ex-boyfriend just happens to carry a torch for you. Say he asks you out for coffee, just for old time's sake. Wouldn't you be tempted (remember the fight over the dinner dishes?) to say yes?

I don't use Facebook, because frankly, I didn't enjoy high school. Or college. At all. I'm much happier now, thank you very much. But I'm also smart enough to know that the temptation to look up people from my past would be overwhelming.

Isn't there a reason that your past is your past? Is Facebook a gateway to adultery, or is it just harmless fun to look up your lost loves?