Something everyone has gone through with social media; unwanted friend requests. Anyone and everyone involved with social media have experienced this. Believe it or not, unwanted friend requests can cause stress. Whether it is your boss, relative or parent, deciding not to add them can be a difficult process. “How to handle unwanted friend requests” is an article that explains how one can avoid this situation and/or get through it smoothly.
The first option is to simply ignore the friend request. Facebook has the option of hitting the “not now” button which leaves the friend request lost in space. This is a very useful tactic and demands little or no stress. The person requesting the friendship may not ever know. Perfect!
The second option is to accept the friend request and then alter your privacy settings. However, changing your Facebook privacy settings may require some time. It is not a simple solution, but is a definite option.
The third option is to reject and speak up. Reject the friend request and share the reasoning with the person the next time you see them. Anything from “I don’t add co-workers” to “Here is my number instead” will work.
The fourth option is to clean up. Clean up the site that you may not want certain people to see. This may be a good wakeup call for you. The professional world may require you to have a clean profile anyways.
Social media is blowing up the digital world and beginning to cause stress? A simple stress like accepting or rejecting a friend doesn’t seem like much, but what if the problem continues to grow. What if this is just the beginning? It seems silly to think about, but people are actually having troubles with the issue.
Adding or rejecting a friend on Facebook should be the last of our worries. Don’t let social media consume you to the point that it runs your life. It is a useful tool, but make sure to separate yourself from it. There are worse things to stress about. Stressing about unwanted friend requests should be the last of our worries!
Sad, isn't it, that something as simple as a Friend Request can cause someone so much turmoil. Even so, I can relate perfectly with this post. When I worked at a bible camp three years ago, I would have the campers add me. Of course, I was not allowed to add them back. I looked through my friend request list a couple days ago and three of them are still hanging there, mid-request because I never knew what to do with them. More recently, I have people add me from the middle of Minnesota, people I have never met before. I figure they are trying to add the "Kyle Vareberg from Detroit Lakes (yes, he's real) and they get me instead. Oh, the joys of Facebook.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Friend requests are becoming more numerous and are bothersome to me. I don't get stressed out by them; I just laugh when someone wants to be my friend and I have no idea who they are. It is easy for me to hit the "not now" button. No pressure for me. However, when I have added known friends, I sometimes wish that I hadn't. That is why your fourth option is an incredible idea. Cleaning up your site is a terrific way to maintain communications with all of the important people in your life. I found this out the other day when I was advised to update my page since it has been over 2 years since I really posted anything new. Thank you for some wonderful advice.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I will admit that I enjoyed reading this blog. I know exactly what you mean by unwanted friend requests. I have no clue how to handle them. I really want to just no add them, but I feel that if I did it would be rude. What I ended up doing is changing how I intend on using Facebook. I have very very few things about my personal life on the site. I use it for the sake of networking and that is about it. If I were still using it as a way to communicate with my top friends, I would use many of these techniques. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI have had a few of these "unwanted friend requests" and I usually do the first of your suggestions. I figure I will just let it sit there and not do anything about it and hope that everyone forgets about it. After awhile I suppose something has to be done and I will probably add them. I don't really have anything on my page and I certainly don't have anything to hide.
ReplyDelete