“Because they weren’t all your friends and you don’t want to be reunited with them”
A casual glance at the last book I read had me thinking: I’m not what you might consider a “people person”, and I need to read more books. I’ve always considered myself friendly. I like to think I’m polite. I’m certainly civil. A little too sarcastic and cynical sometimes, but never mean or malicious. I have a small selection of friends who I love and would do anything (within reason and current legislation) for. So why is it when I get friend requests on Facebook I automatically click “Ignore”? Why don’t I want to be e-friends? What’s wrong with sharing a virtual pint with some guy who stumbled across your name and vaguely recalls taking the piss out of your art in the 3rd year of senior school?
People I’ve invested considerable personal time in I’ve allowed to become consigned to history. They’re memories. Part of a bygone age when I had hair and considerably less body mass, and I have no desire to rekindle or replace them. The only “friends” suitable for a virtual network are surely virtual ones. Those I’ve found myself sharing a beach with, on a tiny island in the monstrous ocean that is the online community. Whose shared interests mirror my own and as such the essence of the friendship is as purely superficial as the virtual community that spawned it. I have genuine virtual love for a fat ginger Welshman. In the real world I have a work colleague who makes semi-regular trips to
I kind of have a rationale: If you knew me then but don’t know me now… There’s a reason!
