Saturday, December 7, 2013

Pity Friending: A Degrading Action

Recently on Facebook, I "updated my status" on the "news feed" about a phrase that I've coined, which I'm sure already exists.  It's call "pity friending." 

You may have heard of "pity f*cking", when a person has sex with you because they feel sorry for you, have no interest in you at all, and need to feel they've done some great honor for you so they feel better.  It's kind of like that.  They "friend" you, with no real interest in you, only because they need some ego boost or just want to name drop.

Can you tell this upsets me?  

I have set rules about Facebook.  I don't care for this new generation of Facebookers who have no idea what the word "friend" means.   All of my "friends" are truly that.  Friends whom I 've know in real life.   We went to school together.  We played together.  We worked together.   We became friends before the age of Facebook.  You know, back "in the day" when you talked to people at parties or church or the park or at school or at the local hamburger joint...

Don't get me wrong.  Facebook is a wonderful place.  I can connect with classmates, coworkers, and distant family.  It's a way to keep up with people that you care about.  I can support local businesses, musicians, writers, and other community stuff.  Those people can use the numbers to get grants, contracts, or event attendance to measure success.

I just can't stand those people who really just need their ego boosted by the number of "friends" they have.  Just because you've got over 1,000 "friends" doesn't impress me.

Grow a set, get out of your shell, and make me a "real" friend that you can care about, can count on, and like in person, then I'll "friend" you on Facebook.  Don't just "pity friend" me.  It's degrading.

CSM

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