[HIB]Bothersome online friends have spawned blocking apps

The chatter is coming at Gonzalez not over a cup of coffee or at Five Guys, but through her iPhone, on Twitter. Gonzalez, bored by some of her friends' blabbering, has quietly put a few of them on the social networking equivalent of time out. Using a $4.99 iPhone application called Twittelator Pro, the 36-year-old from Chantilly simply tapped a button that says "mute" and, voila, her friends' tweets are blocked. Best of all, they're totally oblivious that they have just been silenced."When I saw this feature, it was like a choir of angels coming out to greet me," Gonzalez said.The age of social media has made it easier than ever to stay connected with the people you know, but it has also made it almost inevitable that users will come to feel overwhelmed by interruptions, updates and status reports. So now, the technology that turned people into 24/7 communicators has spawned a tool kit that discreetly lets users be just a tad antisocial on their own networks.

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