COLUMN: Real friends vs. Facebook friends
There’s a point where social media users have crossed the line between “socializing” and creeping.
When a complete stranger (Facebook “friend”) knows you, knows what you did last weekend, your relationship status, where you work and who your roommate is, without even knowing you, that has more than crossed that line.
Unless you’re a Kardashian or Paris Hilton or really know that many people, there is no reason to have that many friends.
I am confident to say I can at least recognize the name of the 535 people I am Facebook friends with.
But, in all honesty, I would consider less than 50 of those people to be real friends.
When did this obsession with knowing everyone’s business begin? I admit it, I scroll through pictures of people from high school I haven’t talked to in a couple years just to see how awesome they make their lives look via Facebook.
But if I actually talked to them, I guarantee their lives wouldn’t be as amazing as their pictures and uplifting status updates make it seem.
And for the people who constantly post depressing status updates on how bad their lives suck, that’s just pathetic. That’s what real friends are for, so tell someone who actually cares about you.
Facebook does have its perks. I stay in touch with friends and have a good time doing it, but I rarely find those people I just talk to on Facebook giving me a call just to see what’s up. It’s easier to just scroll through my page.
The problem I have is the power social media has to make our lives less personal. I miss the days when my old friends would call me to figure out how I was or learn about the new adventures I have embarked on since going to college.
I called a good high school friend of mine the other day and she said to me, “Your Facebook makes it seem like you’re having the time of your life.” She already made the assumption without even asking me one question about my life.
With more than 800 million active users, it’s a good place to get the dirt. I wouldn’t be aware of the 15 girls I graduated with who are pregnant if it wasn’t for Facebook. I’m sure Mark Zuckerberg didn’t know what he was getting himself into back in 2004.
Next time I am tempted to engage in an hour-long creep session of my long-lost friends, maybe I will consider calling them instead. They may wonder why I am so old-fashioned to connect with them this way, but at least I will have a sincere, one-on-one communication with a friend who I really know nothing about anymore.
