With a click of a button, they were gone.
A former friend, who I hadn’t spoken to in years, and I were no longer connected via social media.
But really, we weren’t “friends” or “following” each other for a long time.
It’s easier in real life to spread apart rather than to stop being friends online in my opinion. You get caught up with things happening in the moment – changes or exciting things happening to you and your family at home, in the workplace or elsewhere. Your friend will occasionally cross your mind; you make a mental note to text or call them later, but you never seem to find the time to do it.
After a while, it turns into a couple of months, maybe more, until you think that you need to connect in person and hang out, but neither of you takes the initiative.
Months may turn into more than a year, and after a while, even if you’ve occasionally talked here and there, you’re just not as “close” as you used to be.
However, you may still feel like you’re close in one area – social media.
You like and leave comments on each other’s posts; you may even celebrate your “friend-iversary.”
That may be enough to fill some mommas’ cups – and there is nothing wrong with that. Some people like having lots of people who they’re connected to online, even if there is none or little connection in the real world.
For me, I’m not one who needs the thousands of “friends” on my social media pages to feel “liked.” I actually prefer the opposite. I would rather have a few close, true friends in my circle than a bunch of people who I am connected with virtually but not in real life.
If you’re ready to reevaluate who your friends are on social media, or in the real world, think about a few things:
- If you saw this person crossing your path in real life, would you want to say hi and catch up or not?
- What impact will there be if you’re no longer connected to this person online? Will life carry on like normal or would you be affected in a different way?
- Who else benefits from the friendship – do your kids play together often? Do you have kids in the same grade or classes?
By no means do I feel everyone needs to do a social media cleanse of people who really aren’t their “friends,” but for me, it’s comforting to know who my friends are in the real world and who I choose to stay connected to in the virtual one.
