While some people send Facebook friend requests to everyone
they casually meet during their day, I tend to keep my friend list on the site
limited to just people I'm actually friends with. That means I currently have
over 242 pending friend requests from people like that guy I met at a wedding 10
years ago, and the girl who I rode the bus with in 7th grade but never spoke
to.
Leaving a friend request pending always seemed like the
respectful move. I'm not saying no to these people's friendship, I just haven't
seen the request...in a decade. And they'll probably never realize I left it
there, right? Wrong. If you're the sender, Buzzfeed pointed out this week that
you can actually see who has left you hanging on the site (if it's me, I'm
sorry).
To see what pending friend requests you have, click on the
friend icon at the top of your Facebook page (the spot where you accept all
those new requests) and then select "Find Friends."
A page will load with all the people currently waiting to
become your friend. At the top, there's a tiny "View Sent Requests"
button. Click that, and you'll see what requests you've sent that haven't been
approved.
For me, it was pretty anticlimactic. I have three pending,
one some guy that was part of my lunch crew in 12th grade, whom I arguably
would have left hanging as well (touche sir). The other two look like friends
who removed their presence entirely from Facebook. That, or I decided to friend
two people with no photos and names that appear to just be jumbled letters.
If you've got a few on your list you'd rather not wait on
(or if you want to resend it to get their attention and potentially double your
rejection) you can click on the "Friend Request Sent" button beside
the person's name to cancel your request and free you up to send another.
