A new study found that if someone is unfriended on Facebook, there's a good chance that person will avoid the unfriender in real life forever. I can't say I'm surprised, being that getting unfriended is hurtful and, actually, kind of embarrassing -- it's the electronic equivalent of someone saying, "Wow, I think you're really annoying" in real life. It stings. But the more interesting info this study gleaned is the top four reasons people are unfriended on Facebook. Oof.
According to a study published this month by the Hawaii International Conference on System Science, the top for reasons people are unfriended on Facebook are as follows:
1. Frequent, unimportant posts
2. Polarizing posts usually about politics or religion
3. Inappropriate posts involving sexist, racist remarks
4. Being boring: drab posts about kids, food, etc.
More from The Stir: 10 Surefire Ways to Be That Obnoxious Facebook Friend
Not exactly a shocker there -- I mean, who wants to be friends with someone who's constantly spewing their one-sided, alienating political agenda when you're just trying to see a photo of your friend's kid? And nobody likes the constant, mundane updater. But an argument I always hear is: Why not just block the user instead of unfriending altogether? It's not like they can see you blocked them.
Personally, if it's someone you're really not friends with in real life -- some random dude you knew from camp or something -- why not unfriend them? I mean, what's the point of having them in your social network if you find them irritating and want nothing to do with them in real life? If Facebook didn't exist, you wouldn't have contact with this person at all. And nobody really thinks having a ton of Facebook friends is cool anymore, right?
If there's a chance you'll bump into the person you're unfriending -- eh, might want to think twice and just block, as things could get kind of uncomfy. But if not, I say just go for the unfriend. It's your page after all.
Have you ever unfriended someone on Facebook? Why?
Image via woodleywonderworks/Flickr
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Comments 30
i block everyone. My mother in law... posts things that she thinks are funny, most of the time its a drunk status. People that cant type. My friend who posts 35 pictures of her kid watering the tree, then 2 months later tags herself in all of the pictures. Political rants.
I usually do not unfriend people, just hide them from my feed, but I found people's posting about Sandy Hook to be insensitive and unfriended them.
I disagree with the food one I bake alot so I post photos of my creations and my child is adorable so I post photos of her. People suck if they delete me over this
I don't unfriend, I just hide the posts so they don't show up on my news feed. I was friends with a twenty year old who posts anime constantly, one after the other.