“Friendship” on Fb

[Anonymous]

I’m done with friends on Facebook. None of them say hello or send birthday wishes to me. Why do people you know from years send you friendship request and play radio silence?

[Anonymous]

Maybe they don’t spend much time on there. I use it a lot to connect with family and friends who live far away. I get that others don’t use it nearly as much and that’s fine. I never intended for it to become primary communication.

[Anonymous]

I have a rule - if they haven't liked, commented on a photo of mine for a year, but I can see that they're on there posting stuff themselves and commenting on others, they're dumped.
No harm, I just want only close friends on FB

[Anonymous]

Maybe they just want to keep tabs on you and don’t really want to be friends

[Anonymous]

In my case, it’s that I used to be active on FB when I started out and got all of my “friends”. That tapered off and the only reason I even still have an active account is that the organization I volunteer with has a page for exchanging information and ideas. And I vaguely follow the parents page for DCs college. I never interact/post from my main profile so I suppose I could go through and delete all everyone from my friends list, but it’s not worth the effort. I’m not surprised or upset when any of them cull their lists and drop me, assuming I even notice.

[Anonymous]

FB is for entertainment and selling you stuff, not genuine friendship. Accept it for what it is. I removed my birthday from there because the slew of “Happy birthday!!!”s from people I hadn’t seen in decades rang hollow, and I don’t ever wish others a happy birthday on there. For my real, close friends, I don’t need a reminder to know it’s their birthday, and I call them or send them a card.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. it’s purely entertainment. If you haven’t talked/texted with people in real like they’re not real friends. I don’t say anything for birthdays on FB and I took mine off there because the 2 second “Happy Birthday” from people I haven’t talked to in years means nothing.

I do like seeing what people/their kids are doing but that’s what I use FB for. Not genuine communication.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your replies. I’m on a new chapter in my life and feel a bit isolated. I’ve been using Fb to be in touch with “friends” from my childhood/HS years in a different country. I never posted personal pics to preserve my privacy.
Times have changed and so did the meaning of friendship.

[Anonymous]

I don't get birthday notifications. So I don't send people happy birthday unless I know their birthday from memory. Which is like half a dozen family members.

[Anonymous]

I love that I get notifications of birthdays on FB and like to wish happy birthday to my FB friends, especially the ones I don't see in real life. It's a nice little way to let them know I think of them and care a bit. I also like it when others say it to me even if we aren't normally in close contact. I can't say I notice which of my FB friends don't say it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a rule - if they haven't liked, commented on a photo of mine for a year, but I can see that they're on there posting stuff themselves and commenting on others, they're dumped.
No harm, I just want only close friends on FB

You actually stalk out what people like?

[Anonymous]

I don’t really use FB much anymore and I think a lot of people are similar. I check it a few times week maybe. I mostly use it for various groups, check my kids’ social media account etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm only on it because of a couple of groups so I probably check it once a day for notifications from these groups and maybe once a week actually scroll through it. With that being said, I haven't friended someone on FB in a long time. I can see people doing it as like a "hey, let's see what each other have been up to" without having any interest in actually being friends.

I think you're being a little unrealistic expecting these people from childhood to suddenly become friends because you connected online.

[Anonymous]

Who knows what their algorithm is showing them, what their privacy settings are, how often they log on, or their personal philosophy for using social media?

There aren't any "rules" for social media friendship and you're welcome to unfriend anyone for any reason at any time. I do suggest that it's unhealthy to monitor another adult's social media activity, though, and if you're looking to connect with someone it's better done proactively rather than through the subliminal desire for a message or birthday wish after you've accepted their friend request.

[Anonymous]

FB is dying. Everyone is tired of the platitudes.