While I do respect not only your thought towards this matter, but your concern towards others, I must respond in a very similar tone to that of what fhq responded with. Though yes, fhq and I are both trying to get to 500 friends the fastest, think of it essentially more of an incentive to drive us towards more friends, as we're not doing it just for that, and we don't think of each member as numbers (Though I did come across like that earlier), but we want to get to know more people, and this does seem like a way to do so. And even if those that we request take friendship seriously (Which I don't discourage or dislike at all), many of them will ask or tell us why they've not done so, and a simple conversation will end that right there.
So while I do appreciate your concern, I would just like to show how both of us are really feeling and why we are doing this. Thanks.