It’s time for more face-to-face, less Facebook

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2023 (1055 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: Why do people on Facebook feel the need to post everything they do? I really don’t need to know about their major and minor health complaints, and I don’t feel like pouring out sympathy for every little thing in their lives. The TMI (too much information) concept eludes these people.

I want to respond with a zinger — but then I decide it’s not worth the effort and just unfollow them. My friend list is getting whittled down. How else can I handle this? I don’t want to sympathize with every little thing.

— Stop Sweating the Small Stuff, People! North River Heights

Dear Stop Sweating: Now that we’re out of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, people can afford to ignore people on Facebook who whine constantly about their minor health issues and report every little thing they do. There’s no need to offer them a polite remark or a rebuttal. Just skip them, and look for new friends to add — both online and offline.

Fall 2023 would be a great time to rejuvenate the “living” portion of your social life and look into real faces. Start going out more and including friends in your real life, like you did before COVID struck. Get more involved in your community by volunteering, rekindle old friend circles and enjoy family events, sports, movies, live performances, art and parties.

You don’t have to be on social media so much now, thinking it’s your only safe means of contact. Get on the horn and call people out to re-engage in the world with you. It’s much more fun — and better for your physical and mental health, too.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I packed my girlfriend’s clothes for her and put them out by the curb recently. They were in garbage bags with strips of green painter’s tape on them with her name and the word “cheater” written on them. She dragged them all back up to the door when she finally got home — at sun up.

I forgot I kept a spare key in the garage. She climbed up where I had it hidden, grabbed it and found her way back inside while I was sleeping. I was shocked when she came in and started screaming.

We are both women in our mid-20s, and dated for a short while before I let her move in. She’s been eating my food while I’m out working, and buys none of her own.

She only paid a small part of the rent the first two months and nothing at all this month. She’s out of work, but has enough money to go to the bar and see other women.

Now she’s camping in the basement and I want her out of my house, but she’s a big woman, and I can’t get rid of her myself. What can I do?

She goes out all night and doesn’t come home until the sun comes up, and then she’s usually drunk or high.

She’s not on my lease, and I don’t need her rent money to live here. Should I call her mother, who probably doesn’t want her either? Or should I just call the police?

— Desperate to Get Her Out, North End

Dear Desperate: Tell this unwanted housemate you’re calling her family to come get her. If that doesn’t work, then call the police and ask for help in removing her from the premises. Tell them your exact circumstances and follow all instructions carefully.

Also, be sure to contact your landlord and offer to cover the cost of getting your locks changed immediately, as she might come back.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

Maureen Scurfield
Advice columnist

Maureen Scurfield writes the Miss Lonelyhearts advice column.

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