Earlier this week, I did what I called a "Facebook Friend Inventory." During this process, I go through my entire list of friends and decide whether or not to do the unspeakable: DEFRIEND THEM!!! As mean as this sounds, I consider it necessary to do this inventory at least once a year. A whole year on Facebook means gaining new friends and losing some friends, but you sometimes forget people you have added as "friends." And the term "Facebook friend" is entirely different from the original meaning of "friend." A Facebook friend can be someone you have no idea about, someone you have never met, and/or someone you just want to "Facebook creep" on and look at their pictures and other information. And I'm not saying Facebook friends are bad people to have on your list. To be honest, there are some people on my friends list that I have never even met, which is kind of weird and scary to think about that they can see almost everything you post on Facebook. But let's return to the Facebook friend inventory. When going through my list of friends, I look at each friend and decide whether or not I know them at all. If I know them, I keep them. If I have no idea who they are, I defriend them. It's a cold process, I know, but I need to do it. Then, I decide if a Facebook friend is someone I will never talk to in my life again. If I feel like I will never see them again or talk to them ever again, I defriend them. There are some Facebook friends I keep on my friends list just for gossip or funny Facebook posts, statuses (or stati???), and pictures. This sounds bad, but there are just those people on Facebook whose profiles and pictures you go through just so you can laugh at them. Another thing on my list of criteria to keep a friend on Facebook is whether or not they are likely to stab me in the back or bring down my reputation if I post something "embarassing" on Facebook (which I watch out for and try not to do). This week, I went through my friends list and defriended a lot of people I went to high school with because I never really did talk to them during high school, and I don't plan on seeing them again. This sounds so cold and mean, but if I will never talk to them or see them again, why should they remain on my Facebook friend list? My friend list on Facebook went from around 800 all the way down to around 450 friends. And I am happy about this. I am not so much bothered that I "lost" friends because I'm the one who defriended them and I feel that they are not a part of my life. I am not saying that being on my Facebook friend list is a privelege. There is nothing special about being someone's Facebook friend, even a celebrity or famous person. I just don't want my information and Facebook posts to be available to people I do not even know. But that's just my opinion. I know some people who automatically add anyone who adds them, and this can be dangerous. I never add people I don't know because they can be creepers or weirdos or child molesters or pedophiles or imposters and posers or other people like that. I just want to tell people to be careful on Facebook. Retain some sense of privacy. Be cautious about who you add because they can bring you and your reputation down. And doing a Facebook friend inventory once in a while never hurts!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Facebook Friend Inventory
Earlier this week, I did what I called a "Facebook Friend Inventory." During this process, I go through my entire list of friends and decide whether or not to do the unspeakable: DEFRIEND THEM!!! As mean as this sounds, I consider it necessary to do this inventory at least once a year. A whole year on Facebook means gaining new friends and losing some friends, but you sometimes forget people you have added as "friends." And the term "Facebook friend" is entirely different from the original meaning of "friend." A Facebook friend can be someone you have no idea about, someone you have never met, and/or someone you just want to "Facebook creep" on and look at their pictures and other information. And I'm not saying Facebook friends are bad people to have on your list. To be honest, there are some people on my friends list that I have never even met, which is kind of weird and scary to think about that they can see almost everything you post on Facebook. But let's return to the Facebook friend inventory. When going through my list of friends, I look at each friend and decide whether or not I know them at all. If I know them, I keep them. If I have no idea who they are, I defriend them. It's a cold process, I know, but I need to do it. Then, I decide if a Facebook friend is someone I will never talk to in my life again. If I feel like I will never see them again or talk to them ever again, I defriend them. There are some Facebook friends I keep on my friends list just for gossip or funny Facebook posts, statuses (or stati???), and pictures. This sounds bad, but there are just those people on Facebook whose profiles and pictures you go through just so you can laugh at them. Another thing on my list of criteria to keep a friend on Facebook is whether or not they are likely to stab me in the back or bring down my reputation if I post something "embarassing" on Facebook (which I watch out for and try not to do). This week, I went through my friends list and defriended a lot of people I went to high school with because I never really did talk to them during high school, and I don't plan on seeing them again. This sounds so cold and mean, but if I will never talk to them or see them again, why should they remain on my Facebook friend list? My friend list on Facebook went from around 800 all the way down to around 450 friends. And I am happy about this. I am not so much bothered that I "lost" friends because I'm the one who defriended them and I feel that they are not a part of my life. I am not saying that being on my Facebook friend list is a privelege. There is nothing special about being someone's Facebook friend, even a celebrity or famous person. I just don't want my information and Facebook posts to be available to people I do not even know. But that's just my opinion. I know some people who automatically add anyone who adds them, and this can be dangerous. I never add people I don't know because they can be creepers or weirdos or child molesters or pedophiles or imposters and posers or other people like that. I just want to tell people to be careful on Facebook. Retain some sense of privacy. Be cautious about who you add because they can bring you and your reputation down. And doing a Facebook friend inventory once in a while never hurts!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment