FACE BOOK FILTER

The eager beaver Facebookers are now waking up to the reality of having thousands of ‘friends’. Many in the city are undertaking a clean-up drive thanks to the ‘unfriending’ option. Darsh Doshi a final year student says, “Facebook has provided us with a better option to blocking people. Generally when you block people they can eventually add you back once you have unblocked them, but with unfriending you are free for life. You could always experiment by adding new friends and if they turn out to be a terror, you could unfriend them.”

Aparna Gahpure, a psychologist says, “The main reason why youngsters unfriend people is because they find strangers increasingly becoming a part of their personal spaces.”

However some say caution is better than concern.

Actor Lekha Washington says, “It’s important for youngsters to be careful in the first place, rather than unfriend an individual. I don’t think I would ever unfriend anyone. I don’t think it’s a fashion or a fad, it’s just a different approach taken by people.”

Online acquaintances do not last long, and being in the social medium you are not bound by any responsibility thinks Priyanka Patawri, an employee. “With this option it’s easier to sift people. We share pictures, videos and at times you do not want to share it with all your friends, so this is where this option helps. The biggest advantage of unfriending is that the individual can’t add you back.”

Kiruba Shankar, a tech expert says, “Facebook mimics an individual’s real life, and it adds to your status if you have over 1000 friends. Because it’s a social medium we tend to accept as many people as possible and with no responsibilities it’s easier to break a relationship as no one cribs so it’s acceptable.”