It's so much more devastating to be unfriended on Facebook. It's a light switch that gets thrown off. Whereas in real life, you're never really sure where you stand in friendship status even after a heated argument. None of these unfriending Facebook friends were really my friends in real life. In fact, I'm surprised some of them accepted my friend request in the first place. I shouldn't feel sad that any of them have gone, but the "off" position of that light switch is a pretty effective knife to the gut.
The word "unfriending" calls to mind Orwell's Newspeak--removing words with opposite meaning because they're redundant. Ungood. There have been calls to add an "Unlike/Dislike" button in addition to the "Like" button on Facebook. How about an "Enemy" status? Might be nice to have a social network of everyone you hate. All would get together and call each other names and send each other bile-laden apps to each other. Instead of "Poke", one could "Give the Finger".
These unfriending experiences also really broadened my circle of awareness. Chicago was such a warm, comfy blanket of community. Even some people I didn't like somehow remained close friends. Since leaving it, the rest of the world reared it's ugly head. In real life, as well as in cyberspace. My mom was right. There ARE people out to get you. There ARE people only looking out for themselves. There ARE people who are jealous, spiteful, and insecure, and they're not looking to be my 'friend'.
Since I left the comfy blanket in my mid-thirties and didn't really explore the world in my youth, the shock of these "unfriendlies" is still big. I'm still trying to grapple how to move on and take it in stride.
UPDATE: Huh! Apt: 'Unfriend' Picked Oxford Dictionary's 'Word of the Year'
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