Is The Giver a Utopian or Dystopian Society?

In the book The Giver by Lois Lowry it starts out revealing that they are in late December representing short and dark days. If The Giver is trying to be portrayed as a Utopian society where everyone follows the rules and nothing "Bad" ever happens. Why does it start out so dark? Is it that it's forshadowing the future. In my opinion the society in The Giver is like a dictatorship because no one is allowed to express themselves unless they are given the gift too by the Giver like Jonas was. I think the society is more of a Dystopia beacuse no one really has a say to what they want.

Facebook Friends or Real Friends

The million dollar question would be "What is more important having more Facebook friends or real friends? I've noticed that some people are more content with having 500-1,000 friends on Facebook rather then being more social outside the computer screen. Sometimes I find myself wondering if people feel more comfortable making friends online because they are scared to show who they truly are to the public around them or is it that they feel like they can have a second life online where they can be accepted for who they are. I was one of those people who had over 500 friends but I soon started to realize "Why do I need 500 friends when I can have real friends I can see in person?" I thought about it a few times and there is really no point in having your so called "Friends" or in another words "Strangers" viewing your profile and knowing things about you that only are real friend should know. Just remember a real friend is someone who helps you on the computer screen and off it and he/she has a bond with you that doesn't come close to comparing to the relationship between the friends on Facebook. I rather have ONE real friend over 500 Facebook friends any day.