I dont like u, u dont know that; but what abt that Facebook request?

The age of social networking via the internet has created deep social dilemmas. Till now, whenever you disliked a person, all you had to do was to pretend they didn't exist / avoid talking if thrown together / or in the worst case scenario exchange vague pleasantries and depart with an insincere "lovely-meeting-you". You congratulated yourself on passing the litmus test from your mom's manner book combined with a pleasant feeling of relief at not having to meet for another decade or four. The other party was oblivious that you'd been slinking into dark corners and jumping off bridges rather than meet them (or so you thought) ...and all was well with the world.

But now there is Facebook and anybody can send you a friend request! And the thought of having them on your friend list getting minute to minute details of your fascinating life--(meha...is eating chips while listening to U2) the quizzes you take ('what kind of vegetable are you?') and your precious notes (25 random things about me) --fills you with panic.

And though there is a button right there which invitingly says "ignore friend request' you can't click it. The commandments of net etiquette state that if you deny a 'friend request' from an real life acquaintance, you are broadcasting to them that you dont want them on your list of virtual friends. And everybody knows that those are the only kind who matter these days! (For the clueless--its ok to hit ignore if hungbig4u, whom you dont know from adam, sends you a friend request)
(Also on a side note to a poster here who wrote about his wife not accepting his friend request: Dude wake up! she didn't want to be your fb friend but was obviously too scared to click ignore!)

Which leads me back to the aforementioned dilemma.. to click yes or click ignore to friend request from people whom I cant stand..but would hate to hurt or offend. So right now I'm takng the coward's way out and clicking neither. but the 'friend request pending' message fills me with dread every time i open my page.

which is why i feel that life was much simpler in the older days when it was so much easier to be a hypocrite.

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