Jillian Approved: Humor, News and Nonsense

I have 14 friends on MySpace.

I know I know… not a lot, right? Well, earlier this evening I had 17 friends and before that I had 25 friends. Some would say my friend count is going in the wrong direction, but I disagree.

MySpace has been described as many things, but it touts itself as “a place for friends”. I believe that. Because of this, my friend count is slowly making a trek to the single digits.

All 14 of the people on my friend list are people I know in real life (not that knowing someone “in real life” is a prerequisite for friendship): we’ve either gone to school together, worked together, or met through some mutual source. You won’t find any bands, strange hot guys (not that I’m against them), or popularity seekers on my list. My list is exclusive (if only to me) and people DO get dropped from it. I sound pretty harsh, right?

MySpace has done wonders as a social networking tool and also allowing people to keep in touch with friends and family. I like when people take the time to post something on my page or shoot me a message when they are thinking about me. It’s cool. However, there are a few people that never say anything… EVER. This is disconcerting because if we are “friends” and part of a “network”, doesn’t that require some form of communication? Some kind of back and forth? What relationship can survive or be fulfilling without some kind of give and take?

That’s why I prune.

I take a personal approach to MySpace. I like to go online and leave something for everyone on my list. I like people to know I was thinking of them, that I like them, and that we are indeed “friends”.

I had to rethink the people I was adding.

Sure, there are people I liked working with that made me laugh, but is that worth a spot? Do I really need to add people I went to school with just because I knew them at one point? Am I adding everyone that has ever said “hi” to me? No. I find that there were a lot of people I had absolutely nothing in common with, people I would NEVER hang out with, and people I was just indifferent toward. It’s hard to leave comments when you have no idea why you’re “friends”.

The way I see it, people that NEVER comment just aren’t “friends”. If they wanted to know how I’m doing or show they were thinking of me, they would have said something. And conversely, if I cared I would have done the same.

So yes, friendship (in any medium) requires work on both sides. So when it comes to MySpace, I have no problem deleting someone I never really talk to. Why take up the space? What’s the point in that?

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