[kalehmann]

Not sure if I see a bad thing in this. I'd like too know what old friends are currently up to and checking their social media has been a way to do so during the golden age of facebook.

Lately I feel more value in connecting with them personally, talking and letting them now, that I am still interested in what's going on for them.

[AndrewDucker]

That's great if you're cultivating a very small group of friends who are local.

Social media is how I keep vaguely aware of what's going on with my friends who now live scattered across the planet and get to see in person once per decade or so.

[rTX5CMRXIfFG]

I’m gonna break it to you bud, the people you see only once a decade or so aren’t your friends. Those are shallow acquaintances that you’re letting drag on for too long. They’re not a part of your life and you’re not a part of theirs.

At most, you can call them professional contacts whom you hope to get some value out of in the future, and in that sense I’d agree — social media makes it possible to keep in touch with people whom you have a transactional relationship with.

[watwut]

They dont drag me. They add positive stuff to my life, once in a while, and that is super cool. And they dont ask much in exchange, just for me to not be a jerk in that situation.

And all of them are relationships with someone I already know, can ve safer around then random and some of them grow again into more active friendships in right situation.

And yes, that friendship happens again thing is real.

[fragmede]

"Drag on for too long" Who are you to dictate how other people connect. The word friend is not well defined, but a person I know from my past that I'm able to keep in contact with, thanks to the magic of technology, that I want to have some communication with, is a something.

[rTX5CMRXIfFG]

Everything is not well defined as long as you don’t think about it hard enough. With that attitude, you can dismiss any genuinely thoughtful question with potentially painful answers, which is why a lot of people like it.

[brunoarueira]

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. At the very least, it should be used occasionally to post things as a kind of "public memory," not to expose your entire life just for likes and exhibitionism.

[netsharc]

I wonder what would happen if: if I post 2 pieces of content, my friend would have to comment on the first one to see the next one.

I suppose the app will then mostly be full of throwaway comments in the form of "Cool" or "Wow". But maybe add a modifier that if the poster doesn't have any meaningful reply to a commenter's (let's name him Elon) comment, then the poster's next content will not be shared with Elon next time.