Okay, here's a thing about me:
as vain as I'm NOT; I'm very picky when it comes to who to choose and let-in in
my little social-zone - inevitably making it a tough chore for me acquainting
any Jerks and Jills. In a nutshell, I don't mix easily as am a tad of a fussy with
loads of self-proven socialising theories, rules and principles, which have
seen me reject tons of unwanted associates in my circle of friends. Call me a
snob if you can, but I know I don't come close to that label.
To my defense though, I've
always been a fan of keeping a limited number of friends as it brings less intricacies.
And moreover, I view friendship as more than just sharing greetings and making
trivial conversations - it holds much deeper meanings than that. In my world, a
Quaker should know there are certain arduous obligations and responsibilities,
which are expected to be fulfilled.
However, with cyber social networking
spaces fast emerging and taking over traditional social conventions, should my fraternity
rules and principles still apply? Has the word "friendship" lost its
ancient meaning? Or has a contemporary technology definition outcropped? Regardless,
as long as I see the word "friend"; they too shall apply (says the
man with over 560 facebook 'friends'). LMAO! KWAA!
Yes, I do admit that me: 'the
high and mighty father' of socialising principles, did once succumb to the conspicuous
lures of cyberspace, and I'm guilty of 'accepting' all facebook friendship requests
coming my way (except those faceless ones) without thinking twice -- sue me for
being weak and human!
Any road, after having an AHA
moment, I revisited my social theories; relating them to newly emanated
friendship-making tool, facebook. You don't need to know why facebook became my
targeted brunt. But if you must know: besides the fact that it is one of the
largest used cyberspace sites, facebook is also the only social network that
uses the sentimental word "friends"; while twitter uses
"followers". On the other globe of cyberspace, mxit and BlackBerry use
the word "contacts", which do not hold solace meanings like "friend".
So, if those 560 individuals
in my facebook account are "friends", are they living to the steep responsibilities
of a Quaker? Do they console me when down? Do they honestly know who I am, what
I like, what I dislike, my values and principles? What about my dreams?
No! They don't live up to the
obligations and notions of friendships and certainly know nothing about me!
Well, not everyone. At least 20 percent I can proudly put a friend stamp on
their foreheads. In that 20 percent, some I personally know from the 'real
world' and some took time and tried to know me better after accepting their 'friend
Request'. The remaining 80 percent is just a bunch of redundant whom I last saw
the day I pressed 'confirm'; and some continuously update their statuses, but
we never exchange a "hi" nor comment, write on each other’s walls or
inbox.
Like I said earlier, I limit
my friends. So, the next step is to shamelessly slay all the mutants from my
account, because we apparently don't share homogeneous friendship values. And
for anyone requesting my friendship, I will vigilantly interview them as there
is no sense in adding more inactive odds. As long as facebook still has the tab
"friends", this is how I’m keeping things. Eat that, adders! Anyway, what's
the point of having thousands of friends if you're not reaping the benefits?
Is there friendship
authenticity in a globe (social networking sites) where making a 'friend' is as
easy as a click?
Drop me your thoughts...
Halla!
By Lwazi Mluma
mlumal@goxtranews.com
Leave your comments for Lwazi below (Comment box)...
© The views above do not in anyway represent GoXtra News, but are those of the Concerned writer. 2011. Follow us on twitter here Find us on Facebook here/ For editorial email: editor@goxtranews.com/ For publication errors email: publisher@goxtranews.com
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