All My Friends Unfollowed Me

 I guess I played myself worse than Felisha did, messing with y'all...

A couple of weeks ago, I chose 10 of my friends, male and female, and unfollowed them on two or more social media platforms. Why? Because I wanted to see what would happen.

Seriously, Arielle? You were looking for trouble!

Not exactly. First, I didn't know if they would notice if I unfollowed them or not. Second, I didn't expect the reactions I got. 

Okay...what happened?

They unfollowed me. Every single one. Nobody texted or called me for an explanation, they were all just like, "Bet."

Which was disheartening, to say in the least. 

What was the point???

It's all about communication. I didn't give any of them a heads up, so it began a negative interaction. Nobody likes to be unfollowed, and I know that...but I still wanted to know if anyone was up for dealing with a potential conflict. These aren't random strangers, they're my friends! Unfortunately, these young men and women proved a suspicion that I've held for a while now. 

Instead of confronting negativity, many would rather ignore it or fight back. How long are we going to continue to be socially awkward? How many friendships will fall apart because we refuse to speak up or call each other out? I can't help but imagine if I had an actual issue with any of them. Would they laugh it off? Start an argument? Pretend like everything's okay?

So, what happens now?

As soon as I publish this post, I'll add them all back on IG, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or LinkedIn (yes, I even deleted some of them on there). 

Alright readers, let's hear it.

Am I putting too much emphasis on social media (after all it's just Twitter...and Instagram...and LinkedIn)? Or is it a reflection of our reality - do digital relationships have to be parallel to real-life ones to keep the peace? What would you do if your friend unfollowed you unexpectedly?