This US election cycle featured two disliked candidates, leading to bitter feuds between supporters on social media. But with the election behind us and Donald Trump heading to the White House, it's time to forget about the past and reconnect with friends and family you unfriended or unfollowed over the course of the campaign.
Todd Schenk, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs, has declared Wednesday "National Frenemies Day." The unofficial holiday's official website encourages everyone to take the opportunity to re-add those people to your feeds and even go a step further and have "a respectful yet probing conversation, ideally face to face, that reminds you and your counterpart of your shared humanity beyond your very real, and valid, disagreements."
"Think of it as an opportunity to detox and rediscover each other's humanity," Schenk said in a statement.
He also wants reunited frenemies to share their stories on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #FrenemiesDay for a research study being conducted at Virginia Tech. Using that hashtag could lead to your story being used anonymously in academic publications.
The Frenemies Day website also has tips for having respectful conversation with frenemies, which is all stuff we learned in kindergarten and then unlearned in myriad comment sections online.
Good luck reconnecting, and remember that we're all more likely to Make America Great Again when we're Stronger Together.