A couple of weeks ago, I decided to do something that I had previously told myself that I would never do–I started adding old classmates from my high school as friends on Facebook. For most people, completing this task was one of their first Facebook accomplishments and really no big deal. However, for someone like me who did not keep in touch with a single classmate and has not come within 100 miles of any reunion, this undertaking was worthy of sharing.
As a result of my Facebook journey, I began to ponder what most people look for when they check out old classmates on Facebook.
1. Did they age well? Let’s get real here, is there anyone out there that can tell me that they didn’t take even a little joy in knowing that you don’t look as old as some of your classmates? That’s what I thought.
2. What is their marital status? I found it interesting to see which high school sweethearts got married to each other, who is on their fourth marriage, and, of course, who finally came out of the closet.
3 How many kids do they have? Taking this a step forward, I looked to see who decided or “decided” 
to have kids at an early age, who is starting their own little village, and best of all, whose kids all have different last names. For the record, I found a former classmate that has 6 children with 4 different last names.
4. Do they have any visible prison tattoos? I really do not think any more explanation is needed here.
5. Are they rich? A great man once said, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.” Looking for pictures of a Mercedes in the driveway, updates about a weekend in the Hamptons, and 27 albums of various vacation pictures from every exotic location imaginable all might give you a clue about the financial success of your classmate.
6. Do they still live in the same hometown? At my high school, one of the most uniform goals was to get out of our boring town. Of course, as you get older, living in such a town does become much more desirable and using your parents for free childcare is an added bonus. Still, it is funny that some of the loudest critics of our hometown chose to stay in it to live their own lives.
7. Did they become famous in some way? Did the football star end up in the NFL? Did anyone from the dram club star in any commercials? Did anyone write a book? Through Facebook, I discovered that my class can boast a minor movie star.
8. Did the High School Bully end up miserable and alone? Can you say Karma?
9. Are they friends with their high school sweetheart? Remember that couple in high school that was together for three years and had to be separated with a jaws of life machine every time the bell rang? I do, and found it entertaining that their current husband and wife are okay with them being high school friends. I found it even more entertaining to see them constantly share cryptic high school memories on each others’ walls like “Remember your mom’s basement”
10. Have they had plastic surgery? Beach pictures can often tell wonders. . .
The only people from high school I had any contact with before Facebook were friends of my brother (who remained in our hometown) and they really were not my friends. I never planned on adding any, but I have 3 friends from high school, one randomly encountered on a mutual friend’s wall and two that found me from that connection. All three were just good people who I genuinely liked and was happy to see settled in lasting marriages with families and reconnecting with them was great. But I wouldn’t friend people from HS who were not part of my life back then.
I really like it when people I didn’t like get fat…does that make me a bad person?
I wouldn’t go to a high school or college reunion..but facebook is an efficient way to find out good gossip without having to deal with the bs of reunions. Out of my high school class of 300, only about 20 of them max were nice. I’m still friends with 1 of them. Isn’t it great that life gets so much better after high school?!!
I found my one of the old Classmate of high School Changes his marital status and age so when i ask him he said it’s just for kidding the online community friends.
In reality, Most people who look for friends on Facebook usually are looking to see if your friends are living a better life than you.
I agree with diamond, practically all we want to see is how worse others ended up (money, family, aging…etc). So, no I don’t search classmates on facebook.
And I just spend time chatteing with old friends…
I’ve noticed this thing that when I’ve run into old friends from high school; some of them end up getting fat, some don’t, but they all seem to have these giant heads! It’s like they’ve turned into bobble-head versions of themselves. Has anyone else ever noticed this?
I’m on facebook but not very active. I laughed though when I went to my reunion and everyone was like, “Facebook Me”. Really? I thought I paid my dues by going to this freakin’ reunion.
I just look for my old friends….that’s it.
That really is very true. we are not necessarily looking for them to reach out, more, to see how we stack up against those that we used to know.
jordan
Facebook is the best social network but the profile is dreary. I jazz it up with the help of Chameleon Tom it makes your profile match your individuality.