Friends and other strangers
There's an old saying that "Friends will help you move, but only Good Friends will help you move dead bodies." I like this definition of friendship, and it saddens me that social media has devalued the meaning of the word. People who wouldn't even be "acquaintances" in the real world are called "friends" online. I really wish that some other word was used to describe online connections.
What really bugs me is the way I'm compelled to be complicit in this redefinition of friendship. I get a "friend request" from somebody I don't know, and am asked if I want to "accept". WTF? This person isn't my friend! They're just a random stranger who thought one of my videos was cool, or shares my love of BBW's and big clits. Maybe they don't have anything in common with me at all -- they could just a "friend collector". But none of that matters. My choices are limited to accepting or rejecting this new friend.
I'm not alone in my distaste for this new meaning of "friendship". Some people react by rejecting most/all friend requests from people they don't already know. Some create elaborate criteria for accepting new online friends. I've decided to accept all friend requests from people who've made some effort to fill out their profile, and have some content. Ideally, "content" would include both original uploads and favorites. Original uploads are not absolutely required; a complete profile and good favorites can work. So go ahead, ask me to be your friend, and I'll probably accept. Just don't expect me to help you move. :-)
P.S. If you send me a friend request, please make sure your content will be visible when I check your profile. If your uploads and favorites are set to "friends only", your profile will look empty to me, and I'll reject the invitation.
What really bugs me is the way I'm compelled to be complicit in this redefinition of friendship. I get a "friend request" from somebody I don't know, and am asked if I want to "accept". WTF? This person isn't my friend! They're just a random stranger who thought one of my videos was cool, or shares my love of BBW's and big clits. Maybe they don't have anything in common with me at all -- they could just a "friend collector". But none of that matters. My choices are limited to accepting or rejecting this new friend.
I'm not alone in my distaste for this new meaning of "friendship". Some people react by rejecting most/all friend requests from people they don't already know. Some create elaborate criteria for accepting new online friends. I've decided to accept all friend requests from people who've made some effort to fill out their profile, and have some content. Ideally, "content" would include both original uploads and favorites. Original uploads are not absolutely required; a complete profile and good favorites can work. So go ahead, ask me to be your friend, and I'll probably accept. Just don't expect me to help you move. :-)
P.S. If you send me a friend request, please make sure your content will be visible when I check your profile. If your uploads and favorites are set to "friends only", your profile will look empty to me, and I'll reject the invitation.
11 年 前
jack--