How Often Do You Check Your Facebook Friend List?
I started thinking about this after I wrote the post about the loon who sent me a vicious facebook message the other day. The guy was nutty in a way that suggested off-balance, unmedicated. But I did wonder: do facebook users actually know each and every friend they have, or do they just accept the friends without knowing one way or the other? But more than that, do they literally know who unfriends them? Are they keeping track?
Facebook, for me, is family, people I know, and getting to know other people for the first time. I'm a very social person and I love getting to know new people. But FB is a social network, which to me means being social...not political or religious. If you're a zealot, either political or religious, I'm either going to hide you from my feed or unfriend you without giving it a second thought. I don't care if you're a wannabe on some small town chamber of commerce or CEO of a major corportaion. It's bad manners to discuss politics or religion in social atmospheres, so take it somewhere more appropriate. And, preach your politics or religion (Anne Rice) to someone who cares.
I have sent friend requests to people who have responded with, "Do I know you?" And I've always responded with, "If you have to ask, it's probably better you don't accept my friendship." A good many of the people on my facebook friend list are, in fact, people I don't know who sent me friend requests. And I always accept the requests, thinking I may get to know someone a little better. Though I do announce book releases and some promotional information on my facebook page, I'm not all about promotion. I've come to know a few people through facebook and I've sparked more than several friendships. I've never met any of them in person. But I do feel as if I know them fairly well. And, sadly, some friendships have started out great but petered out without much comment at all. It happens, I've noticed, where people grow bored on FB, too.
But I have to admit one thing. I don't check my friend list at all. At this point, I have over 2,000 friends and I simply assume they are going to be there. If a handful of these people stopped posting, I'd wonder and I'd check to see what happened to them. I'd even worry. But I've never actually gone through my friend list in one sitting to see who has unfriended me. I guess if someone does unfriend me, that's how it goes. I'm sure they had a reason that was valid to them, and who am I to question this? And I can promise you I wouldn't send them a private facebook message, filled with rants, about being unfriended. Not only is that pathetic and needy. It's downright strange.
The guy who sent me the creepy/nasty facebook message because I unfriended him for writing political posts evidently doesn't agree with me. And I can only assume he sits at his kitchen table checking his facebook friend list all the time. When I unfriended him, I didn't even think he'd notice...seriously. I thought it would be more tactful to just unfriend then get into the reasons why I was unfriending him. After all, his politics is none of my business. And I couldn't care less what he posts. I just don't want to see it, is all. But it did make me think. This guy, in fact, has over 4,000 friends, and who in their right mind has time to look through that many names on a regular basis? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe people actually do know each and everyone of their facebook friends. I'm sure people who use facebook for just family and close friends do know. But with over 4,000, it seemed a bit peculiar to me this guy would single me out.[image error]
Facebook, for me, is family, people I know, and getting to know other people for the first time. I'm a very social person and I love getting to know new people. But FB is a social network, which to me means being social...not political or religious. If you're a zealot, either political or religious, I'm either going to hide you from my feed or unfriend you without giving it a second thought. I don't care if you're a wannabe on some small town chamber of commerce or CEO of a major corportaion. It's bad manners to discuss politics or religion in social atmospheres, so take it somewhere more appropriate. And, preach your politics or religion (Anne Rice) to someone who cares.
I have sent friend requests to people who have responded with, "Do I know you?" And I've always responded with, "If you have to ask, it's probably better you don't accept my friendship." A good many of the people on my facebook friend list are, in fact, people I don't know who sent me friend requests. And I always accept the requests, thinking I may get to know someone a little better. Though I do announce book releases and some promotional information on my facebook page, I'm not all about promotion. I've come to know a few people through facebook and I've sparked more than several friendships. I've never met any of them in person. But I do feel as if I know them fairly well. And, sadly, some friendships have started out great but petered out without much comment at all. It happens, I've noticed, where people grow bored on FB, too.
But I have to admit one thing. I don't check my friend list at all. At this point, I have over 2,000 friends and I simply assume they are going to be there. If a handful of these people stopped posting, I'd wonder and I'd check to see what happened to them. I'd even worry. But I've never actually gone through my friend list in one sitting to see who has unfriended me. I guess if someone does unfriend me, that's how it goes. I'm sure they had a reason that was valid to them, and who am I to question this? And I can promise you I wouldn't send them a private facebook message, filled with rants, about being unfriended. Not only is that pathetic and needy. It's downright strange.
The guy who sent me the creepy/nasty facebook message because I unfriended him for writing political posts evidently doesn't agree with me. And I can only assume he sits at his kitchen table checking his facebook friend list all the time. When I unfriended him, I didn't even think he'd notice...seriously. I thought it would be more tactful to just unfriend then get into the reasons why I was unfriending him. After all, his politics is none of my business. And I couldn't care less what he posts. I just don't want to see it, is all. But it did make me think. This guy, in fact, has over 4,000 friends, and who in their right mind has time to look through that many names on a regular basis? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe people actually do know each and everyone of their facebook friends. I'm sure people who use facebook for just family and close friends do know. But with over 4,000, it seemed a bit peculiar to me this guy would single me out.[image error]
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