DIGITAL FRIENDSHIP ASBOS

"Every time a friend succeeds I die a little bit"

...is an aphorism of Gore Vidal's that I was reminded of when reading The Evening Standard on Tuesday eve. It made me realise how much time I waste lingering around social network profiles, namely Facebook and Twitter, of 'friends' or shall I say, acquaintances of mine, occassionally following their moves and preparing to enforce the adequate amount of dismay to their merits, or even simply waiting for said merits to become apparent (if they ever do?) I guess it's all part and parcel of keeping aware of potential competition? ..or um, generally about...erm....a whole lotta nothing.

Which then drew attention to the fact that I do indeed, tend to do the odd bit of following a few tweeters, whom in some cases, I don't even KNOW (although I convince myself that they somehow are aware of me in some disjointed way) - resulting in making me very much aware of them and what they're doing. I'm not ashamed to admit that on the rare occassion, it's caused varied degrees of anger, jealousy and mostly frustration. But seriously, why?

Why should I care that someone I've NEVER met is working THAT campaign or got THAT job?

So, I decided to trim the fat, slowly but surely I am unfollowing, unfriending and essentially, without their knowledge, serving a number of people with my very own digital friendship ASBO, and it feels good. Funnily enough it has made a significant difference to my general outlook on the vibes of life and even my daily routine. No being bummed out for nothing and you know what? I could actually care less about what some ANNNNY gash is up to.

Out of sight and out of mind, indeed. I strongly suggest you consider a similar springclean. You never know who might be lurking, all I can assure you of now is that it's no longer me ;)

In conclusion, no - my friends succeeding actually makes me happier than ever, and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends COMPLETELY running tings.

This totes irrelevant blog post was soundtracked by a combination of my latest crushez, the wonderful Arthur Beatrice and ya know, Caribou, I'm not even gonna bother linking to them because if you haven't already got the album, you must be having a really great time under that rock.

RUSPECT.