Sunday, January 6, 2013

The new verb

 ***

To "Unfriend"


I watched a friend devolve
on the assembly of white boxes,
parading for egos addicted to sharing;

and now she's playing tag --
sharing names with strangers
and best-forgotten ex's;

hurling insults in pixel print,
the monsters escape
and all anyone can do is like it.

I remind myself, these specters
are contained behind the glass
but still

I hover a finger over her name,
unable to decide
the kind of friend I'd be.


***


The definition of "unfriend" according to the Urban Dictionary.

Posted for Open Link Night #78 at dVerse Poet's Pub.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

really nice phrasings in here Raven. Like this a lot.

Ravenblack said...

Thanks Fred. :)

Mary said...

I assume you are writing about Facebook interactions. Indeed, one can always decide to unfriend....but it IS hard to do! I enjoyed your write.

Brian Miller said...

just another reason i am 2 years facebook free...smiles....oy...smiles...watching friends dissolve into...what?

Kathy Reed said...

you nailed the ambiguous feeling....I've mixed feelings about facebook; i can imagine a much better one, more sophisticated and private, without the childishness of the current one....soon I will end my account, but will I miss the parts that I like about it??

Grace said...

An interesting capture of today's social media's reach and nightmare ~

I guess there are some people who share their everyday lives to the world readily. Sure,click delete or not accept the invitation ~

Anonymous said...

sometimes we have to administer a little tough love to others to stay true to ourselves - mo

'unfriend' indeed - one wonders what the English language will look like in the next century

"white boxes,
parading for egos addicted to sharing"

great image

Ravenblack said...

Mary, Brian, kkkaty, Grace, Ruth: Thanks for the comments.

There's a lot to enjoy on facebook, I love look at people's trip photos and sharing in good news, but it does come with these annoyances and sometimes shocking revelations. It's kinda sad to realise one is starting to dislike someone because their online behavior is awful.

(Hm...I might have incomplete idea there, don't I, Brian?)

Anonymous said...

Strange new social metal/glass world we're in!

ayala said...

Sometimes we have to unfriend those that are negative and toxic. :(

Bodhirose said...

Excellent...a write for the times for sure. Your images are so accurate! I have had no problem unfriending negative, gossipy, pissy, toxic "friends"...nope, that button is pushed so fast their heads would spin! :)

Anonymous said...

Yikes! Whole new scenarios and not very nice ones. Crazy what people (i) do to themselves, and (ii) publicly! One of these click of the finger things. So interestingly written too, as well as interesting content generally. Thanks. k.

Ravenblack said...

Dark Angel, Ayala, Karin, Gayle, thanks for your visit and comments.


When it's a relative, it can also be difficult. That might be part 2. *sigh*