If you're on Facebook, you are faced with this dilemma almost daily.
You, along with a hundred others, get invited to group events. Or you and 46 acquaintenances are invited to a product party. And most problematic of all--you and 23 others are asked for some kind of help.
These are all invitations of some sort. My Facebook account is flooded with them weekly.
Here's the dilemma: Am I rude not to respond?
Notice that my question isn't "Should I respond?" or "Am I obligated to respond?"
My question jumps past the niceties and the shoulds. It jumps straight to the "I'm not planning to respond at all...is that terrible?"
I guess it's the sheer number of requests I get--that we all get, I'm sure. Or maybe I am just old fashioned about invitations. I only feel bound to proper when it comes in an envelope with a stamp, and with my name on it. Now, I am not at all against online invitations. I've used them myself. They're easy and practical--two of my favorite things! However, I do think about them differently. I consider them much more casual than a mailed invitation, or a phone call--or even a text.
That's not saying that I never respond. I do sometimes. I even try to sometimes.
*Confession time* But, the bottom line is this: I don't respond to most of my Facebook invitations. Is that rude and terrible, and now you'll never send me another invitation?
What do you think?
I'd really LOVE to hear what you think about this modern etiquette question.
Flickr credit: Debs
