Frankly, I think unfriending on Facebook is quite necessary and not at all degenerative. I don't see why we have to keep the customs of the past when we are not living in the past. Back in the days when post mails and face to face time were the only means of communication, all you had to do was confront the person and you were done, you have cut all available connection and communication with that human being. It was easy to cut someone out of your life. Now days it gets much harder with cell phones, emails, skype, gchat, facebook, linkedin, forums.... It requires much more effort and courage to cut someone out. People move to different cities and countries, addresses change, cell phones change. Facebook is almost the only stable and reliable source to keep in touch with a friend. So in this modern age, unfriending on Facebook is an important first step toward "he's dead to me."