I’ve noticed that there are some people on social networking sites that seem to collect people. There is simply no possible way that they could personally know that many people and have a relationship with them. I’m not talking about public figures, news anchors, musicians, writers or those sorts. I’m talking about ordinary every day people.
Now I’ll admit I’ve collected some friends through Facebook, mostly in order to meet neighbor requirements on Farmville. I would say that 99% of these people have become true friends and we talk about all kinds of things other than exchanging Farmville stuff. Some people may say Farmville is an addiction. Well it is. I think I’ve already covered that in another blog.
I got a friend request just this morning from someone I have no clue as to who they are. When I click on their profile we have one friend in common. May I suggest if you do send someone a friend request that you also send them a message and let them know why you want to be their friend.
But I believe these everyday people collecting friends need to ask themselves one question “Why?” Maybe they have some kind of inferiority complex that makes them feel the need to collect “friends”. Maybe they think social media is some kind of popularity contest. It hasn’t happened to me, but I know people who received a friend request and when they didn’t respond the person that sent the request wanted to know why. All I know is please don’t ask me questions unless you want a true and honest answer.
I know some people have said “I just don’t want to be rude, so I accept their friend request.” That’s part of the problem today. We let other people dictate to us what we do, how we should feel, and all kinds of things, simple because “We don’t want to hurt their feelings.” Its always good to be considerate of other people’s feelings, but would you open your door and let these people come into your living room? I consider my Facebook page to be very personal. When you hop onto my page and say something to me or comment on something I’ve said, its sort of like you’ve stopped off at my house while I’m sitting out on my porch.
There is always security concerns with Facebook. Why add to it by letting people in that you don’t know. If you are trying to expand or promote your business, I would suggest you make a Facebook page for it. I think Facebook can be an excellent tool to promote a business. But collecting friends on these types of sites is not only slightly sad, but can be dangerous as well.