Friends or Fans?

Do you have friends or fans in your life?  I have a friend, *Pat, who can be a bit entertaining on Facebook.  Pat has mastered being coy enough to get curious responses and brash and honest enough to keep the comments and 'Likes' coming.  Pat is a friend.  I like Pat.  But Pat's 'Friend List' is filled with more gawking onlookers than actual friends.  I think Pat likes this.  Which made me wonder, how many of us have fans as opposed to friends?

Well, let's first make the distinction between fans and friends.  A fan will 'Like' all comments and posts, making sure to respond how much they almost choked from laughing out loud at your circumstance.  A friend makes a point of reaching out after the fact or outside of the public post to ensure that everything is all good.  Fans leave encouraging words of how awesome you are; friends tell you that to your face.  Which leads me to my next example, fans only interact with you online; you share actual memories with friends.  Let me be clear, there are not only virtual fans, but real ones too.  Of the people who show up to any and every event you have, how many of them would you actually sit down and talk to?  How many would you say really know you?  Who amongst them would you invite for an intimate evening with friends and family?

In most cases, the fan list outweigh the friends list.  Now I must admit, this is something I have only observed from the outside.  I happen to have the winning personality which only keeps the most genuine and honest people close to me.  I have never been the type of person people feel they need to hang around for what I have or what I do.  You really have to want to deal with me, to deal with me.  Which, in my opinion, is a good thing.  My fanbase is non-existant.  I am okay with that and have wholeheartedly embraced it.

So again, I ask, do you have friends or fans?



*Name has been changed.