Facebook has become an actual way of life for many people. They come here to play games, to promote their businesses and services, to make new friends and to express opinions they otherwise would keep to themselves.
Because of the time spent in Facebook … many people actual find themselves extremely attached to other… “ Facebookers”. Some remain friends for several years and trust their Facebook friends with secrets that they would never tell their local friends or family. People have met, fallen in love, and married because of Facebook.
But, what happens when the friendships hit the skids? Or, the wonderful, sexy, hot, torrid Facebook affairs … fall apart? Blocking the other person is usually the best advice. But, while the person blocked cannot see the “blocker”, that also means that the “blocker” cannot see the horrible, nasty lies … or truths … that the other person is telling their mutual Facebook friends.
Therein, lies the problem. What do the two quarrelling Facebookers do with their mutual friends? First … should one send out a formal announcement of the end of the relationship and ask that everyone respect their privacy and the time needed to grieve?
One solution could be to divide the friends up. But then … who … gets who? Perhaps another solution would be to have “joint custody” of all the friends. They could rotate weekends and holidays. And there are always the Facebookers, that will, after a “break-up” … start “kissing up” to certain mutual Facebook friends, that they had spent very little time with before … in order to make that “other people like me, so there!” statement. In North Carolina, there is still an “Alienation of Affection” law on the books. Could the other Facebooker … seeing the shift of loyalty happening …. sue the “unfriender”, using this claim?
With more questions than answers … it is clear that the Facebook Community is now in need of Facebook Lawyers, specializing in Facebook Civil Law matters. I can see the Facebook Civil Matters page, listing “Lawyers in your local internet area”, now, with the slogan, “Helping YOU to keep YOUR friends.”
This Is Really Debbie Barth 