I suppose I’m not unique in receiving friend requests from people I don’t recognize by name. I also find it a bit odd when a member of the opposite sex who I only know from passing in the hall wants to befriend me.
Requests from people at church make more sense. There we are a community of believers. Facebook can provide a way to get to know each other better.
Some of the strangest requests are from high school classmates that I really didn’t associate with back in the day. Why should I become pals with a guy who thought I was too square growing up because I didn’t drink and do drugs all the time as he did? Or a woman who really didn’t have time for me because I wasn’t in the same social circle of friends? I knew her in high school, junior high and grade school. Now she wants to get friendly, 34 years after I last saw her?
I imagine the requests are part of a desire for validation. If someone has 1,000 “friends” they must be more popular than someone with 100 contacts. I certainly don't look anything like I did in high school, as the photo can attest. In any regard, I think I probably have enough closer relationships online that I don’t need to go courting pseudo ones.
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