Reasons We're Not Friends Anymore

Every now and then I go through all my social media platforms and cull a bunch of people. I'm really sorry. It's not personal. But I have four Twitter accounts, one personal Facebook page, three "business" Facebook pages for my writing and perfume projects, three Pinterest accounts, and two Tumblrs. That's a stupid amount of social media, and every now and then I get overwhelmed by how much stuff I'm seeing, how much repeated content there is, and how many chances there are I'll say the wrong thing in the wrong place and unleash hell somehow.

So sometimes I do go through and unfollow/unfriend people and things. And sometimes people notice I'm not following them and they get pissy/upset and demand answers. That actually happens. So here's a quick list of reasons I'm not following you anymore:

1. My interests wax and wane. Sometimes I really, really want to see pictures of baby animals all the freaking time, so I follow accounts that show those. And then I get fed up of seeing a million pictures of a piglet in a flowerpot, so I unfollow.

2. I don't know who you are. Having been published by a few different publishers, I find I'm friending/following a bunch of other authors out of pure politeness. And then a year goes past and we've never interacted and I can't remember why we're Facebook friends, so I unfollow.

3. You're my ex boyfriend from when I was a teenager. And I have no interest in you in any way.

4. You're really fucking annoying. Okay, I guess that is pretty personal. But if all you do is tweet links to your books/reviews, I don't care. I don't want my Twitter feed to be your advertising board.

5. You're a twat. You want to post racist/sexist/prejudiced bullshit everywhere? That's your bad choice. I'm not obliged to see it though.

And can I just add that it's weird to contact someone to ask why they've unfollowed you or say something like, "I see you don't subscribe to my blog anymore and I just wanted to say goodbye." I mean, it is weird, right? It's not just me who thinks that? It's a tad Orwellian. I don't think people need to justify this stuff. It's not that I don't think online friends are real friends; it's just that there's still a difference between a genuine friendship formed online and following someone because you share a publisher, or have a brief mutual interest. And you're not automatically friends with someone because you're following them somewhere online, just the same way you're not automatically friends with someone you sit next to at work.

So, in short: I'm sorry if we're not friends anymore, but it's probably not for any sinister or mean reason.

Most of the time.