When do you delete Facebook friends?

[CantWaitForSummer2021]

Like many people, I have lots of Facebook 'friends' who I never speak to. I left school 13 years ago and I still have people on from there, even though we haven't spoken since and wouldn't speak if we walked past each other in the street. This is also the case with uni people, work colleagues and people I've met on holidays, who I still have on Facebook.

I have noticed some people have removed me, and while this feels a bit of a snub, I suppose it's fair enough as we are strangers now...

If I culled the list down to family and people I actually speak to, I would probably have around 30 'friends'.

Do you delete people or do you just leave it as it is?

[IReallyNeedMoreGin]

If I pass a 'friend' in the street and they ignore me if I say hello or they pretend they haven't seen me (it's happened!) I'll delete them asap. I also delete if they regularly post anything offensive. Otherwise I leave them there. I don't have a massive friends list anyway. Most are colleagues past and present and friends and family.

[delilahbucket]

I've been known to have a cull. If someone joins and MLM and starts hounding me that usually results in removal as well. If I'm sharing details of my life, I'd rather do it with people who are actually bothered. It isn't about having a huge number of "friends".

[Littlejayx]

I’ve just had a cull from 970 to 200

If I wouldn’t say hello in the street or vice versa delete!

[SirSamuelVimes]

I love a good cull. I keep my friends list to about fifty.

[Cairnterrorist]

I delete people I won’t see in real life.

I only have about 50-60 people on my Facebook though.

[user1494050295]

I have an annual cull abd your posted reminded me

[WunWun]

I delete anyone who I think I'd not speak to in the street. And anyone who posts stuff I don't like.

[WunWun]

Don't like to the point I dislike them as a person I mean.

[DinnaeFashSassenach]

Usually when someone "tattles" something silly and causes a stink, I'll remove or restrict the possible wee clipes, if someone keeps asking me to join their MLM page, Trump supporters (who wants racists and white supremists as friends?) People who share Britain First type crap (again, see Trump supporters) and in-laws. Well, they just get restricted so we don't have a kick off.

[HardAsSnails]

I remove anyone doing MLM and anyone where there's no interaction.

[EcoCustard]

If they irritate me I unfollow but if I haven’t spoken to them in person for a year they are removed. I only have a bout 25 Facebook friends though and a no family or work rule too.

[ItsJustARide]

Between Brexit, Trump and Covid conspiracy theorists I didn’t have many left out of 1000 or so. More recently I culled mine down to close friends and family plus a few I couldn’t bear to delete and had about 60 left. These days social media makes me feel too exposed. Like those dreams where you look down and you're naked in public. Not for me to have all and sundry have a window on the inner workings of my life anymore but then I’m 43 and a bit over it all after 15 years.

[LegoAndLolDolls]

I only have 100/90 friends.

If I have spoken to them IRL for years, they have blocked me from their feed or we ddont interact on FB they can go.

I only people I genuinely know on FN bar a few people who share a specific common connection.in fact I should cull some more.

I even culled Mil as she is so right wing and offensive. If I dared disagree with her posts she set her mates on me.

[Glenorma]

There are people on my Facebook that I haven’t seen in person for over 20 years, but we were friends and I like them even though I don’t get the chance to see them. I like to see their posts and comment on them, and see how their lives are going. Some of the people I interact with the most are people I never see.

[sweetiepie1]

I cull mine every year and if I haven't seen or spoken to that person in the last year I delete them!

[sundaysgirls]

Anybody who ignores me on the street
Anybody who doesn't know my address andphone number
Anybody with unacceptable views
before I deleted FB I had less then 20 people on there, I'm very fussy

[SpaceRaiders]

I never know what the etiquette is. Some people take it quite personally when you delete or refuse to add them. I made the mistake of adding a whole load of school mums a year ago. And I’ve been wondering what the best way about it without a massive fall out.

[addictedtotheflats]

MLMs, "all lives matter" brigade, sexist remarks

[Taylrse]

I delete people if they have posted something I deem as offensive. Otherwise I just leave it and if they want to delete me they can.

[sundaysgirls]

@SpaceRaiders

I never know what the etiquette is. Some people take it quite personally when you delete or refuse to add them. I made the mistake of adding a whole load of school mums a year ago. And I’ve been wondering what the best way about it without a massive fall out.

It'd be a crying shame if your account were hacked and your friends list was decimated. You might even need to create a new account

[AngelDelightUK]

I have a two week rule. If you add me then don’t interact you’re deleted. Then if you don’t wish me happy birthday you also are deleted

[quarentini]

If I haven't spoken to them in a year or had any type of interaction then I delete them.
I also remove 99 percent of ex colleagues after I change jobs.

[Dugee]

I keep people on that I haven't seen in years, if we still seem to share the same hobbies / view on life. It's different for me as I worked abroad for 4 years, so I have friends that I don't see due to geography.

I delete people who are vocally and argumentatively political (of any stripe) as I find them generally intolerant of anyone with a different opinion to them. I also delete bigots.

I find it easier to just unfollow people sometimes, saves causing any offence.

[yearinyearout]

It's a tricky one, I tend to unfollow a lot of people (mainly tories) to avoid getting into a discussion about why I deleted them (I don't have loads of acquaintances on fb, so I know everyone on my list pretty well)

[EssentiallyDelighted]

@Glenorma

There are people on my Facebook that I haven’t seen in person for over 20 years, but we were friends and I like them even though I don’t get the chance to see them. I like to see their posts and comment on them, and see how their lives are going. Some of the people I interact with the most are people I never see.

This for me too, I may well never see them again but we were friends at some point in our lives and its nice to still interact a bit.

Apart from offensive posts, I tend to delete people who I never really knew that well in the first place, didn't have much in common with and only knew through old jobs, school run or similar, especially if we don't really interact even on FB.

I quite often realise people have deleted me, but its nearly always that sort of relationship so its fine. I've never really been shocked about having been deleted.