Social Media -- The New Break Up

I had this revelation while I was writing First Word, my weekly newsletter, and I thought I would entertain you with it. Did you know that people now use their social media "actions" to make a statement. It's the new way to tell your "friends" you're mad at them or more like you don't want to be associated with them. It's actually pretty funny when you think about it. You said something I didn't like in my "share" ... bam! I can delete the whole post. It's quite an interesting way to end an argument in that respect. I don't want to know what you're doing anymore ... bam! I can "de-friend*" you. How's that for, "I don't want to see you anymore!" Same goes for my newsletter First Word. People can use the unsubscribe to make a similar statement. I don't like your newsletter ... bam. Unsubscribe. See how powerful that is. It could even become kind of cathartic I think. I'm in a bad mood -- and you "friend" just lit me up some more ... bam! We're not "friends" anymore. Ah, doesn't that somehow feel better? I also like the one where this person told me she felt that being my "friend" on Facebook was (and I quote) "a conflict of interest," but then starts reading my newsletter and clicked to the blog. I occurred to me that was also an interesting statement. Hm ... wouldn't the same conflict of interest exist with my newsletter or blog? All of a sudden, this excuse felt perhaps slightly disingenuous. So what did I do? You guessed it ... bam! I unsubscribe her myself. So just for the record the "de-friend" and "unsubscribe" go both ways. Now say it altogether now, "I'm just saying."

*De-Friend: The noun turned into the new verb, which describes the act of clicking on a button that removes an individual from your Facebook friends. It can also be described in all tenses -- de-friend, de-friended, de-friending.