For instance, if I'm posting or commenting on the wall of a Facebook friend I've already met, like a high school or college buddy, in my mind I see a picture of us hanging out in a living room, backyard, or chatting in the isles of a grocery store.
When I'm on-line with someone I haven't met in person, I imagine us talking in a coffee shop, at a networking event or business social setting. You know, the kind of places that are good for getting to know someone new.
However we meet new people, there's an initial hope for a great connection, though sometimes that hope is short-lived. I became Facebook friends with someone who turns out to have some very different viewpoints on life, and shares a lot of negative, discouraging thoughts. Here's the thing though...we also have things in common, and sometimes she is surprisingly encouraging. I've pondered unfriending her, but then I think things like, "Gee, I could be a positive influence on her." I also think, "I am so tired of her sarcasm."
As in "real life," once we've opened the door, or in this case, our wall and let new people into a corner of our lives, we then have to make a decision about what to do with the relationship. If it's a great fit, well, then it's a no-brainer. We stick with them and nurture the friendship. If it's not a good fit; that's when it becomes tricky. We can either drop them, or in Facebook language unfriend them, or we can keep the relationship. The decision then becomes about whether we're real, or superficial with them. Just like real life.
What's not so much like real life it that it's WAY easier to invite in, and then to ignore, unfriend or block someone out of your life behind the veil of the Internet. The truth is, we are all still people and all have the same feelings about relationships, whether live or virtually 'live.' So the question is, will you stay or will you go?
