The Day I Cleaned Up My Friends List

Today, I went through my friends list and cleaned it up a bit.

 I unfriended a few - but not many (at least, not yet).

 I also played with a few Facebook settings. 

 You see, you can not only categorize your friends (so you can post content specific to that group - useful if you're sharing information with co-workers or family that is not pertinent to everyone on your friends list) and you can also choose to follow and/or get notificatoins when your friends post something.

 This is useful if you have a friend who is a heavy Facebook user who might flood your page with pictures and videos, preventing you from really seeing any other content from your other friends unless you scroll aaaaaalllll the way down on your page.

 And since it's a general consensus that Facebook can be a huge time suck, this feature is very beneficial.

 But I went through my friends list for a different reason. It dawned on me, that while I have over 350 friends, I rarely interact with any of them outside of Facebook. I can count on one hand the number of people who text me or call me. You might wonder why I would keep 300+ friends on my friends list if I only get contacted by five.

 There's a very real purpose.

 This is the breakdown of my friends list:

• Family
• Church Family
• Co-Workers (Past and Present)
• Friends (elementary, high school, and college)
• Scouts

 It would appear that Facebook has become more of a bulletin board of happenings. Birthdays. Weddings. Prayer meetings. Yard sales. 

 

 It is not for social interaction. In fact, I get more social interaction from the groups I belong to than actual interaction from human beings I actually know. It's networking.

 

 That's not to say that I don't have anyone interacting with me on Facebook. I do. Especially when I post about hot button topics or ask hot button questions. Which is good. I have a wide range of friends - liberal, conservative, believers, non-believers. It's good to get discussions going.

 

 But it is not the platform to hold a conversation that could easily be held via text, over the phone, or (even better!) in person.

 

 So, while it's true that I have 300+ "friends", I don't *really* have 300+ friends - and that's okay.

 Family and friends are there when you need them. And some connections are stronger than others. If I had a flat tire, I know who I would call. If I needed help for other things, I knew I would call. Different friends serve different purposes and I think that's okay.

 

 So, I will keep my Facebook active because it's a great way to stay in touch with people (especially those who live far away). It's a great way to share pictures, recipes, and cute/funny/sad/emotional stories.

 

 I'm not dissing Facebook.

 

 I just need to be a better friend.

 

 Until next time, 

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