Facebook Friend Deleting Spree

Remember when it was cool to have a huge number of Facebook friends? For someone so active and open on social media, can you believe I actually went through a Facebook deleting spree?! Well I did, and to be honest, I do not regret my decision.

In college, I went through quite a bit of cyberbullying. I did not know who was sending theses mean messages via anonymous accounts on Instagram, but they were very very detailed. This information was info only friends would have known or could have gathered from other accounts. As usual, people move on and grow apart after high school and I took this as a sign to remove the “Facebook friends” that I did not speak with or need to have following my life. “A Facebook cleanse or detox” so to speak.

Growing up, Myspace was a big part of social media. Then, Facebook made its way into the picture and we were all still learning and growing with the idea of an online community.  Throughout high school, I accepted almost every friend request (even from people I did not know.) I was unaware of the harmfulness of stalkers, haters, etc. I felt like if someone added me, they had to have known me from a friend or from somewhere, and I did not want to be mean or send a bad message by rejecting the request.

Once I started receiving negative harsh messages and comments on Instagram, I realized it was time for a detox. I needed to clear out people who were no longer communicating with me or maybe never did. The only people that I wanted apart of my Facebook community were people who I thought cared about me-not people just stalking and judging my posts.

I realized that the people who needed to see my photos and personal posts were family and friends- real friends. Believe it or not, your Facebook contains a lot of personal information. You may be surprised to hear, but many of your Facebook friends will be able to easily locate where you live, what you look like now, and what you are doing. In fact, Facebook may share your posts publicly. RIGHT NOW- Go view your privacy settings. You may be shocked to see the results.

I also realized that I want to celebrate successes with those who matter most, and be able to share with other important people in my life on social media… just not every single person who has even been my Facebook friend. As you become older, a little mystery about your life can be a good thing.

When was the last time you reviewed your Facebook friends list?