Losing face on facebook

Facebook is all about connecting to people, socializing, meeting up with old friends online, and all that good stuff...

So - why was it so heartwrenchingly heartbreaking when I was recently blocked by a friend, who accepted my invitation to be a friend, and then suddenly wasn't my friend, but also went on to BLOCK ME?!?

Blocking someone on facebook is equivalent to saying to that person, "Oh - I'm sorry - you have something akin to the online bubonic plague - and there is no way I want to be associated with you - or have you be able to locate me, see me, find me, contact me, and dump me as a friend - because I dumped you first (I'll admit, that one is the hardest one to take... I don't like being the dumpee... but that's an entirely different blog all together...) It's WAYYY worse than Rachel Adams was in Mean Girls. (I don't always live my life vicariously through "chick flicks" only...although - one could argue...)

Anyhoo, this person has recently contacted me again to ask me to be a friend, or as it is commonly referred to on Facebook, this person has tried to "friend" me, again.

I'm hurt. I have to admit it. It seems a stupid thing, but I feel absolutely like I was dumped, without all the closure that comes from actually being dumped face to face, and then - I am asked to be their friend again? What should I do?

In this regard, the internet social world is tough to deal with. I was brought up to confront pepole face to face when I had an issue with them. The most avoidance I did, was perhaps, leave a bar of soap on the desk of a co-worker who smelled like they didn't shower... Believe me - I felt terrible about it - fessed up to it - and the person - I'd like to report, never changed, and continued to stink... But - at least I was true to myself. (needless to say, we are no longer friends.)

But this is the world I grew up in. People, talking to people, face to face. Even telephone break ups were shunned. "You broke up with (insert person's name) over the phone!?!? *gasp* THAT IS TERRIBLE!" But now, in cyberland, you might not even KNOW that someone broke up with you - unless you were looking for it. Which is basically, primarily (phrase I cannot live without) what happened to me.

I have to admit, this has really marred the way I feel about facebook, and it has made me not want to facebook much at all. I've not visited the webpage as much as I used to - and "needing to know" is now replaced with, if I need to know - I'll just give the person a call, rather than secretly stalk them on facebook. Which, up until now - I now.

So - I thank this person actually (who I have since "friended" and not mentioned anything about the blocking to) because I've decided that this incident has taught me to spend less time online, and more time actually HANGING with my friends.