Acquaintances

Perhaps it can be blamed on my age, or the fact that I have been labelled as an "old soul", but I find it terribly odd - and even uncomfortable - when I meet someone for the first time and they immediately search for me on social media and request my electronic friendship.

I think that this go-get-em attitude is completely healthy and beneficial when it comes to the professional aspect; networking at a business after hours, for example. Make those aggressive connections! Grow your name in the community and certainly strengthen your company reputation. But what happened to casual circumstance when it comes to acquaintances? 

And that is the type of person I am referring to here; an acquaintance. Someone you have never heard of that you were introduced to one night while saying a quick "hello" to a friend at the bar. They look up your name. When they can't find you this way, they will search through mutual friend's selection of followers to find you there. Before you know it, you are inundated with private messages from a veritable stranger about things you really don't care to discuss. Which, of course, they will be things you don't care to discuss; this person does not know you! What's more, you don't know them, so even if it were a topic you typically find to be palatable, it is reliable on the company you keep (i.e., I will talk to my sister about her dog's state of being at great lengths, however have absolutely no interest in a stranger's pet or child, I assure you).

What happened to the casual run-in? That small event that once was so usual and has become more and more of an anomaly. Don't get me wrong; I really don't mind when I get to go to the grocery store and enjoy my shopping experience uninterrupted, but I think I would rather gamble on this. Although, I must admit, when we follow each other so constantly on social media, if ever we do run into each other in real, physical life, the distraction is to be much shorter than the run-in catch-up. It wasn't so long ago that I have forgotten: I would watch my mother just trying to get groceries done with us kids. Suddenly, as if alerted, the entire community would bum-rush my mother and assume position for a twenty-five minute catch-up conversation. My mother's face pained, smile straining as she would likely just be considering the fact that this bozo was going to be the reason she didn't get to sit down and read for a few before bed that night (my mother's life was always very precisely timed).

Some friend requests I have ignored, some I have denied but some I have begrudgingly accepted, simply because I do not wish to be rude to someone who means something to a dear friend. Or worse yet; when a co-worker befriends you online. I do not care to be put in this position one bit. Of course I am going to have to accept your request; we bloody work together! And if you are the type of person to put me in this position in the first place, you are likely the kind of person to bring it up at work the next day (or at least silently hold it against me for the remainder of our professional time together). I honestly couldn't tell you the last person I actually searched for online to request their friendship. This community is small. I am going to run into you again without trying. That goes doubly for the work environment; there are only so many of us who work here. It will not be long before your physical self and my physical self are simultaneously occupying the building again. 

Acquaintances: please stop forcing your unwanted personality on me and being so aggressive about you and I being a thing. It is only slightly less uncomfortable to me than a person who is interested in dating me portraying the same behavior.