There are so many new “problems” in society now with the emergence and prominence of social media. Who do you “friend,” and who do you keep as “friends” even when you’re no longer friends in real life or acquainted via work? (For the record, there’s a difference between “being friends on Facebook” vs. “being friends in real life,” and sadly in everyday conversation, we actually have to clarify that with people we speak with. Why do we feel a need to “stay connected” via Facebook or Instagram even when we have zero intention to ever speak with or see former colleagues or classmates or friends ever again? I see people watching my Instagram stories every single time I post, but I know we’ll never interact one on one ever again. So why are they so nosy about my life, anyway?

I actually have unfriended people almost every year. Sometimes, it’s been in waves. Other times, I see some stupid, obnoxious, or ignorant as hell post they put on Facebook, and I think, “I’m still connected to this person, really?” And I’m sure people have felt that way about me, too. I don’t care. It’s not always personal. It’s that as you get older, you realize that the circle of people you care about gets smaller and smaller, and you know your time on earth is running out, so why not just focus on the people you really care about instead of thinking about all the nobodies you don’t care about? I’ve unfriended people who have actually tried to RE-ADD me as a friend within the same day or two, as though they had some add-on monitoring turned on that alerted them to when and who attempted to un-friend them. Why are people so desperate to stay connected to people they don’t care about? Is it because they have no lives of their own that they feel compelled to keep track of where their lives are in relation to others they don’t care at all about?