Friends Discontinued

So, Friends Reunited is to close - didn't I tell you that social media was just a passing phase?  I remember when Friend Reunited was all the rage - it was the only reason for some people going online, as they attempted to track down all those random strangers they happened to have gone to school with.  As you've doubtless gathered, I've never been a fan of Friends Reunited and certainly don't lament its passing.  I really don't understand why people were ever in such a hurry to try and get back in touch with people they knew at school - clearly, they must have happier memories of their schooldays than I do.  Which isn't to say that they were an entirely miserable time for me - I enjoyed infant and junior schools and made a good number of friends with shared interests. But when I moved on to Grammar school, that group was broken up - most went to different schools, those who did go to the same school as me ended up in different forms, so the ties of friendship were weakened.  Worse, the new school was obsessed with people being good at sports ( I wasn't, and therefore could never be 'cool') and effectively condoned bullying as long as it was being done by someone who was likely to make the rugby first fifteen.  Even worse, I found had next to no interests in common with other students, (this was long before science fiction, fantasy and the like were considered 'cool' and the web hadn't even been thought of, let alone invented).

Which isn't to say that I don't have some good memories of that period - most of them involve me setting fire to things or farting on the bullies (that's another story entirely, though).  But I really have no desire to meet any of my contemporaries from back then again.  After all, apart from having been at school with them, I have nothing in common with them.  Which isn't to say that I haven't seen some of them since - I just made out sure they didn't see me.  Anyway, none of the bullies who liked to lord it over the rest of us with their supposed superiority seem to have amounted to anything.  Most of them have aged far worse than I have, that's for sure.  As far as I can make out, none of the teachers' favourites have achieved the same level of academic success as I have, nor did any of them reach the heights I managed in public service (before my spectacular fall from grace).  I have had at least one of the bastards try to contact me, but I've covered my tracks sufficiently to frustrate his efforts.  The fact is that I'm a great believer in moving on and not looking back each time my life moves into a new phase.  Consequently, not only do I not keep in touch with people I went to school with, but I keep in touch with only a few people from my undergraduate and postgraduate days and next to nobody from previous jobs.  In fact, there is only one person I used to work with that I attempt to maintain a relationship with, (although, as she is as bad as me in respect of staying in touch, this can be pretty intermittent, but hey, we're clearly anti social birds of a feather).  All of which brings me to other types of social media, like Facebook.  As with Friends Reunited, I've never really seen the point, as Facebook seems to focus on hooking you up with people you already know - I always thought that the beauty of the web was that it allowed you to forge links with like-minded people you've never met before.  Or am I missing the point?