The Perils of Social Networking
What is the etiquette for ignoring someone on a social networking site, like Facebook? I avoided joining one until recently, when I did so to play a joke on a co-worker. Then all my family found me there, and I stayed on because it’s an easy way to reassure my mother than I’m not “dead in a ditch somewhere”.
Last night I got a message from a guy that I went to school with over 15 years ago. We were at school together for a year, and I was good friends with his best friend. During most of that time he openly had an awkward, unfulfilled crush on me. He only asked me out once, and I let him know I wasn’t interested, but he didn't hide the fact that he continued to pine. His message last night was of the generic “Hi! It’s your old school friend! How are you?” variety, but he also sent me a “friends request”.
I don’t want to be “friends” with this guy. I don’t even want to reply to his message. My memories of him are not particularly good ones. It's not like he was a jerk or anything, I was just always uncomfortable around him. Anyone who has ever been the object of unrequited attraction can understand, I’m sure. I was pretty young then, too, and I probably didn’t handle it in the best way possible.
So the question is, how much of a bitch am I if I just ignore him altogether?