Yesterday you had 647 friends on Facebook, and overnight your friend count has suddenly dropped to 642. What could have happened? Take a look at your profile. If you've done any of these seven things, you've found your answer.
1. Your posts are vague
If your status right now reads, "Feeling uncertain about what he said to me," you're in trouble. People get on the Internet for instant information, and a status that doesn't tell the whole story is contrary to that mentality. More importantly, many people see vague statuses as a way to seek attention. If you want to keep your friends, just tell it like it is.
2. You're selling something
If you are using Facebook primarily to share how herbal smoothies brought you self-esteem, weight loss and love and for the low price of $79.99, and tell others how they can get that too, you're in trouble. People don't get on Facebook to be guilt-tripped by their acquaintances into spending their hard-earned money. Using Facebook as a marketing tool is going to make people drop your Facebook friendship like it's hot.
3. You talk politics
In general, people want to see things that confirm their own beliefs. They don't go on Facebook to see things that tear down their ideologies. If you are constantly posting comments saying that people of a certain political party are idiots, you're not helping anyone see the light; you are just polarizing yourself to the point of lost friendship.
4. You overshare
Believe it or not, most of your social media network doesn't care that you had a strawberry cheesecake yogurt for breakfast. They also don't care that you've been stuck in traffic for an hour. Those people who do care about these things will ask, but repeatedly sharing these kinds of things on Facebook is going to make your Facebook friend count drop pretty quickly.
5. You pick fights
Your ex probably is a jerk. But yelling about it on Facebook with excessive capitalization, exclamation marks and carefully chosen emojis isn't going to fix that. What it will do is make you lose friends.
6. You're competitive
Nobody likes to be constantly shown your greener grass. While Facebook is a great place to share your accomplishments and celebrations, you need to use it to celebrate those of your friends as well, rather than using it as a platform to one-up them.
7. You're not friends in real life
If you haven't cultivated a relationship with your Internet friends outside of the World Wide Web, chances are your friends don't feel the need to be virtual friends anymore, either. If you cherish any of your Facebook relationships, make sure you make them a priority in the real world as well.
1. Your posts are vague
If your status right now reads, "Feeling uncertain about what he said to me," you're in trouble. People get on the Internet for instant information, and a status that doesn't tell the whole story is contrary to that mentality. More importantly, many people see vague statuses as a way to seek attention. If you want to keep your friends, just tell it like it is.
2. You're selling something
If you are using Facebook primarily to share how herbal smoothies brought you self-esteem, weight loss and love and for the low price of $79.99, and tell others how they can get that too, you're in trouble. People don't get on Facebook to be guilt-tripped by their acquaintances into spending their hard-earned money. Using Facebook as a marketing tool is going to make people drop your Facebook friendship like it's hot.
3. You talk politics
In general, people want to see things that confirm their own beliefs. They don't go on Facebook to see things that tear down their ideologies. If you are constantly posting comments saying that people of a certain political party are idiots, you're not helping anyone see the light; you are just polarizing yourself to the point of lost friendship.
4. You overshare
Believe it or not, most of your social media network doesn't care that you had a strawberry cheesecake yogurt for breakfast. They also don't care that you've been stuck in traffic for an hour. Those people who do care about these things will ask, but repeatedly sharing these kinds of things on Facebook is going to make your Facebook friend count drop pretty quickly.
5. You pick fights
Your ex probably is a jerk. But yelling about it on Facebook with excessive capitalization, exclamation marks and carefully chosen emojis isn't going to fix that. What it will do is make you lose friends.
6. You're competitive
Nobody likes to be constantly shown your greener grass. While Facebook is a great place to share your accomplishments and celebrations, you need to use it to celebrate those of your friends as well, rather than using it as a platform to one-up them.
7. You're not friends in real life
If you haven't cultivated a relationship with your Internet friends outside of the World Wide Web, chances are your friends don't feel the need to be virtual friends anymore, either. If you cherish any of your Facebook relationships, make sure you make them a priority in the real world as well.
