Cleaning House

Over the last few months, I tried to get caught up in the whole Facebook craze. For those of you not in the know, Facebook is like "My Space" on steroids. People/Co-Workers/Former Classmates look you up and send you a "Friend Request". Of course, you accept because it's natural to want friends. Also, to be honest, it's quite a stroke to the ego to think that others are thinking of you (cue Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You"). It's all a sham. They don't want you. They just want to bump up the count of their "friends" which essentially equates to boosting their "fan base".


Then the weirdest thing, their "friends" want to add you as a "friend" and to quote an old shampoo commercial "and so on and so on and so on....". The oddest part yet, after you accept this person's "friend" request, quite often, you never hear from them again............not directly anyway.



But before you know it, you are inundated with emails detailing everything your "friends" have posted on Facebook. If they add pictures, you get an email notification. If they add more friends, you get an email notification. If they post a remark, you get an email notification. If they join a group, you get an email notification. EVERY TIME YOUR GAWD DAMN "FRIEND" DOES ANYTHING, YOU GET AN EMAIL FOR. EVERY.GAWD.DAMN.THING.



Quite honestly, it was getting to be a real pain-in-the-@ss to open my email account and see tons of emails from Facebook about my "friends". Some of my "friends" felt so important, that they felt the need to post the fact that they "woke up" Ta-dah! Others posted about making soup, having a glass of wine and cleaning house! To be quite frank, if I was that interested in EVERYTHING they were up to, wouldn't we have just stayed friends? There's a reason friendships/acquaintances end, lack of interest, folks. We'll dot "i's" and cross "t's" at the next reunion or when we run into each other in REAL life.

Last night, I "cleaned house" and I ended several "friendships" with my "friends". On Facebook, if you "unfriend" someone, they don't even know it. I'm willing to bet that these folks don't even realize that I've vanished. Just like a puff of smoke, I'm gone.

Didn't even have to twitch my nose. All I did was click the "x" next to my "friend's name". Done.Finito.The fat lady sang.

The hardest part - - I "unfriended" my kids. Don't get me wrong. I love my kids but it was getting too easy, too convenient, to communicate via Facebook or via text and with them, I'd rather communicate in person so, I gave them the boot too. I also booted their "friends" that "friended me"- the only relationship I want to have with young adults are the with the ones that share my bloodline.

It feels so nice to have an inbox that is not taken over by what I equate to even more junk. For those of you who are still my "Facebook" friends, behave or I'll go Houdini on you as well.

Signed,
Friendless and Happy!