Defriending...

...on Facebook. What's your take on it? (Warning: this may sound like a rant, but it's really just a ponder. A quandary. A crossroads.)

Would you just do it if you felt like you had nothing in common with someone? If you knew them a long, long time ago and accepted their friend requests, then realized you don't much care about their current lives? If you a mutual friend thought you might get along and then you discovered they were not someone you were interested in? If you accepted a request from someone in your network because you wanted another member for an online game? Is there a certain etiquette to this? Would you tell these people before you did it? Would they even notice? What if you did the actual requesting, not just the accepting?

Or would you just defriend them and not think twice about it?

I ask because I plan to quit a multi-player game due to receiving some kind of special tool, for torture. But I am not down with torture tactics and I don't find it fun (this is why I quit Mafia Wars.) Anyway, I had accepted three of what seemed like a million friend requests to join people's crews (gamers know what I mean). I said yes to one of them because he seemed normal (my age range, married, with a family, in my network, and without obnoxious status updates -- and you really never know when a connection can be helpful) and the other two because they also seemed normal (I know, I know -- what's normal, anyway?), and live on the other side of the pond -- far, far away.

Also, several people from elementary school, junior high, and high school found me, and I was very, very, VERY pleased to hear from some of them. Long lost friends! People I've missed! Possible networking! I was able to find a few other people on my own, and I have made some acquaintances as well. I like these people. I'm glad to see they are happy, have families, or are successful. But the rest... well, so what? I couldn't remember them! I actually had to dig out my yearbook (that wasn't easy) to see who some of these people were. And I won't allow myself to be guilted into being "friends" with someone, or being friends with them for the sake of politeness. My life will go on as it did before I accepted their requests. And besides, the administrator in me wants to clean out the files.

Is this all too mean of me? Am I overthinking? Would any of them really care? I think the answer is no.

To be clear, I find Facebook convenient because users can receive so much info about their friends and interests in one place. But I find Facebook inconvenient because who needs fake friends and extraneous information? To me, Facebook seems quite needy, sometimes. And one thing I can't stand is neediness.

I'm going to have to take a stand. At the risk of sounding aloof, harsh and/or really, really bitchy: life is short... too short for fake friends. I'm truly sorry if anyone's feelings get hurt. But I'm pretty content right now, and inviting extras into my life seems rather stupid. Sure, I enjoy some of the games, but for the most part I just want to stay in contact with my real friends and people I actually care about. Is that too much to ask? Feedback is welcome, people. Thank you.