because we are friends on FACEBOOK. i started facebook to chat and share pictures with friends and relatives and even find a few friends that i'd lost contact with. i thought i'd just keep it to a few people. then the "friend requests" start coming in. now, i understand that facebook suggests friends that you might possibly know and it's fun to see people and their families and check out what's going on in their world. however, i don't get requesting "friends" who one has never even spoken to and has no connection with. i don't really want to share pictures of my kids with strangers. i've had several requests from people i know i've never seen before because they live in a different country. but the one that tops it off is a request i recently received from a girl i went to high school with who, from all accounts, despised me. i didn't know her, never said anything mean to her, but she found some reason to strongly dislike me and facebook has, i assume, suggested that she befriend me. when i mentioned the girl's name to erin he said something along the lines of "the one who hated you". yep, you're not the only one i've heard that from. for many, facebook seems like a friend race. one of my fb friends (who, by the way, i really like and think is hilarious) recently announced they had reached 1000 friends. 1000 friends? i can't even keep my own kids straight let alone remember 1000 names of people i don't regularly see. i have "ignored" requests from people i don't know and they sent me another. usually after the second request i confirm them IF the look even vaguely familiar. i'm thinking maybe i will start a new fb account and put pictures of my family on that one and then accept every tom dick and harry that requests me as a friend on my current one. then if someone i've never met sends me a friend request i can send them a message back that says: "please send request to other account. i don't accept strangers as friends on this one. :)"
p.s. have you heard about people who have creditors request them as fb friends and then harass them about their over due accounts? that right there tells me to be weary of never-before-seen-friends. you never know what their intent is. they could be predators. and yes, i do admit i'm a bit paranoid.