A couple of years ago I decided to rid myself of Facebook friends who I either no longer communicated with on a regular basis (one off friend requests, high school friends I know longer spoke to, other random acquaintances, etc) or who posted obnoxious politically-heavy posts. I decided to do it on a whim, hoping to get myself off social media. I even deleted my account from time-to-time to get myself off, but found there is too much value in being connected with some people.
Since widdling my “friends” from around 380 down to a count of 60 I have slowly been building my connections back. I checked today and have 97.
My new connections have to fit one of three criteria:
1. I am genuinely friends and care about their day-to-day life.
2. They are thinkers/movers and I’d be missing out by not following them and hearing their thoughts/seeing their posts.
3. The person has had, can or will have an impact on my life.
If a “friend” no longer fits one of those three categories, I delete them. Sometimes it’s pre-mature and I do regret it, but I’ve consistently found very few people even notice you’re no longer friends, and if they do notice and say something to me, then I know they care enough that we should be friends.
There is a lot to be said about social media and the value you can get from it, especially through promoting your product or brand, but the current way I have it set up is an awesome blend of the people I truly care about and thought leaders I need to hear. Logging into Facebook no longer brings me anxiety or FOMO (fear of missing out) by comparing myself to others but a refreshing look into the lives of people I have a connection with.
If we’re friends on Facebook you fit into one of those three categories and have an impact on my life in some form or another.