Opinion | Dec 2008 | M.McKennedy

Would You Accept This Request?

Facebook (a social networking website) – we all use it, some use it way too much, others create accounts and never touch them again!  Friend requests (when someone on Facebook asks you to be their ‘friend’) – they come from co-workers, acquaintances, family, strangers and actual friends.  If you receive a ‘friend request’ are you automatically obligated to accept?  I say no freakin’ way!

Yesterday I received a Friend Request on Facebook.  The person was from the same network as me (Burlington, VT) but I had not heard of him, nor did his photo look familiar.  Upon glancing at his profile I realized that he was a musician trying to gain followers since I was not his ‘friend’ in real life, why would I add a stranger to my list of friends in the virtual world called Facebook – well, I might be different from you in the fact that I ‘ignored’ the request.  To me, this is spam, and like the canned ‘meat’ product I don’t really care for it.

There is also the situation where a Friend Request comes in from a person you haven’t set eyes on in 20 years and maybe you want to keep it that way – you know what I say…ignore or deny the request!  My take on all of this is that I am not trying to build an army of Facebook friends – I only connect with people with whom I would be friends with in ‘real life’.  Call it ‘snobbery’, call me an asshole if you must – I don’t really care either way but I see that some people like to try to add every co-worker and ‘friend of a friend – of a friend’ to their list and it must be for one reason – to get them to believe that they are popular or something?  I don’t really know the answer and frankly I don’t care.

I do know that the beauty of these social networking apps is that a person can do what ever the hell they want.  If you are one of those people that signs up for Facebook and immediately tries to connect with every possible person in your network, your friend’s networks and everyone who works for the same company as you, well that is your choice.  That’s what it’s all about…choice…and if I don’t know you chances are that my choice will be ignore the request!  Don’t take it personal…I don’t think that I am better than you (but am I?). I just don’t want to follow the lives of people that I don’t know or really care about but, others might – again…it’s about choices.  So, stop spamming me with friend requests you bastards and to the rest of you…see you on Facebook!