Feb 4, 2009

To friend or not to friend?

Let's just get it out in the open, people. I'm addicted to Facebook. Who isn't? OK, so maybe that's just my way of justifying this nasty habit of mine. I joined a long time ago, but never used it because I really didn't know what I was supposed to do. Then my friend suggested we play a game of Scrabulous (remember that, Ceci?). I was hooked!! I didn't care about getting in touch with anyone, I just wanted to play Scrabulous while I was on my lunch break...and when I was supposed to be writing a grant or doing some research, but I digress.

Then I got a friend request...and life as I knew it came to a screeching halt as I realized the true purpose of Facebook. In the months since my epiphany, I've become friends with quite a few people. Of course, there are the friends I talk to or e-mail on a daily basis. There's my sister who I see as often as possible, and whose business I know inside and out. But then there are those with whom I've lost touch over the years - people I've thought about from time to time. So here's a sample of my list of new-old friends:

  • A former superviser with whom things ended badly when I resigned from my job.

  • My high school crush for all four years.

  • Two friends I've known since kindergarten.

  • The girl that lived across the street from me when we were kids (we used to play Twister on my parents' driveway).

  • The first boy I ever kissed

  • My best friend in high school who went out with me the night we got our drivers' licenses.

  • My absolutely adorable cousin who I rarely see.

  • A dear friend from graduate school who suffered through stats class with me.

  • An ex-boyfriend.

  • My brother-in-law...and his sister!


The funny thing is that there are a ton of people I would "friend" but don't because I think they would never remember me. That's the weird thing about Facebook - it transports me back to those awkward days in high school when I couldn't look a guy in the eyes because I just knew he could tell I liked him. I was so afraid of being rejected that I never did anything about my crushes. And now, at the ripe old age of 36, I feel the same about being Facebook friends with these same people - will they remember me? Will they just accept my friendship because they feel obligated, or because they want to increase their number of Facebook friends? I'm seriously in my mid-30's and am thinking like a teenager. Sad but true.

And another thing...Patrick joined Facebook on Sunday night. I asked him to be my friend and he has yet to accept. Should I be worried???

4 comments:

Jason said...

I have some of the same issues as you do, so I hope this is comforting--I've been amazed at how memorable I apparently am. Seriously, there are people who I am shocked that they have asked to be my friend. Perhaps they're just being completists or something, trying to get everybody from our graduating class, but seriously, it's amazing. So don't underestimate how memorable you are.

Ceci said...

So, I quit FB last night. I am done. At least I think I am. I had no self control--it was crack for me. Sorry that I got you addicted too!

Before I quit, though, I looked at your friend list and was trying to figure out who your high school crush was, who the first boy you kissed was, etc., etc. Not easy!

tmoore2406 said...

I figured the high school crush was easy to figure out - I was in love with him ("in love" in the completely immature high school sense of the word) for four years. He was always nice to me, but we never went on a date. The first boy I kissed...not so easy to figure out. I'll give you a clue - he was a year ahead of us in school...

Bridget said...

I am somewhat even more taken aback by people who I have asked to be friends with and have declined, people who travel in some of the same social circles as I do and in one case been to thier house. Why would someone be that mean spirited to decline a friendship. It hurts in the same way it did in high school.