I remember in 7th grade Facebook started becoming more notorious and the "13 or older" rule was established, however, being the oh-so rebellious 12 year old I was, I decided to join the Facebook bandwagon much like most of my friends and peers had done. Now, I look back at my Facebook and think of all the "what the?" moments, statuses, Picnik edits, & my enormous, yet irrelevant friend list. I continuously ask myself why I felt the need to add or accept friend requests from people I only knew from being a face in the school hallway or my best friends' boyfriends, girlfriends, cousins, family members, etc. from a one-time encounter. However, there are many other reasons that I have come to a conclusion that having more than half a thousand or more friends is irrelevant today.
1. You (probably) DO NOT know more than a half of thousand people!
Unless you have superb networking skills or are famous, I really do not see the point. Adding mutuals or getting friend requests from people you haven't met may seem cool, but also can be socially awkward. Sure, you may have met that person once or twice, but would you really feel comfortable with them seeing pictures of what you're doing or who you are when they BARELY or may NOT even know you on a personal level?
2. 500+ People Do Not Care After So Long
This reason seems kind of vague, bare with me; some people may friend you for the sake of attractiveness or wealth aka they DO NOT care at all about you as a whole! As a younger female in college, it's no surprise that I've had occasional friend requests from people, whom I may know or don't know very well. It may seem daunting at first, but when a Facebook "friend" messages me "hey...", it can come across as a translation for "Hey, you're gorgeous, we should talk or hang out sometime" or a more in-depth "Hi Gianna! What's up?..." conversation. The beginning of a conversation on Facebook can be a huge icebreaker because this, to me, shows, either this person does or does not care about me as a whole. Moreover, if a person on Facebook says I am attractive or what I do with my life is attractive, they do NOT care. If they think my personality, hobbies, etc. are interesting and they genuinely want to talk to me, they DO care to learn more about my life and will participate in seeking more information about me, posted on or off media. Also, the first few conversations really determine if friending this person was ideal or not because if someone only wanted to be friends to try to "get some", (money, sex, whatever the case may be) I wouldn't be too crazy about that because 1. They didn't take the time to learn anything about my relationship status, sexuality, hobbies, or academics; young college students are generally very busy & it amazes me that, sadly, I still have had those kinds of people message me in this manner occasionally. I would argue that keeping these friends is not ideal because if you aren't interested in them, they have no sense of trying and should continue swiping right on Tinder; that is not a friend to have on Facebook.
3. You May Never See Them After Certain Milestones
This reason is more focused towards people graduated from high school, college, graduate school, or moving to a new area. When I graduated high school, I did the mainstream "friend cleanout" and, for me, it felt nice to have a lower number of friends & feel comfortable sharing more accomplishments, photos, & statuses with those I actually knew & could manage to communicate with every now & then. Transitioning from one point of your life to the next is a huge milestone & opens your eyes on who's really going to be there to support you along the way. In addition, some friends in the same boat as you may instantly lose touch with you due to time management, proximity, & the level of intimacy you might've shared in the past. Before graduating I had about 500-600 Facebook friends and, to this day, I have about 250 maybe? Overall, if you fall into the category of moving to a new area or school, at least take a look & think about your relationship with all of your Facebook friends & if you haven't messaged them in months or care to follow where they go because there was less than three in-person interactions, it may not be a bad idea to click "un-friend".
4. There is Always Privacy and Following
I get Facebook stalking is a thing and is somewhat universally acceptable, but if you do not feel comfortable sharing your life with those mutuals or friends you decide to keep, they may always have the option to still follow you without actually seeing EVERYTHING you post! For me, allowing people to follow me is intimidating because there are certain milestones, information, or pictures that may be irrelevant for mutuals to see, so for this one, I recommend checking your Privacy Settings to set for your likings.
5. Fake Friends
Much like the friends who only want to "get some", there may be the case that many of your Facebook "friends" may use or twist your shared information in the wrong direction! Much like celebrities, people may (or may not) look up to you & that's something to think about every time you post to your specified followers on or off Facebook. Many people have told me "Nothing you post on media can be deleted or private" and that is absolutely true. Also, if you happen to keep friends you may not interact with after a certain period of time or you may have beef with that person, you may want to delete them before posting. Why? They can turn your information and updates to others and it may make you seem like a horrible influence within your environment, causing unhealthy disagreements & rumors to fly within days, hours, even minutes! Sure, Facebook is a good place to keep all of your goofy memories in place, but also it's a good idea to think about what you post & who may see it before you post. To be safer, check the number of friends you have & ask yourself, "Do I really want or think 500+ people (regardless if you know them or not) need to see this?" or if you are changing your profile picture or cover photo, ESPECIALLY think about what's in the picture(s), say you are wearing a bathing suit, have alcohol, or any sort of provocative content, carefully think to yourself if you want the WHOLE WORLD to see that content. Sure, you may have been feeling body positive, confident, drunk, etc. in those pictures, but some pictures may make or break your opportunities as a friend, role model, employee, significant other, or just a general first impression for ANYONE IN THE WORLD. After reading this, I really hope this has helped you figure out your social media priorities; whether or not you do a friend cleanout or check, just ask yourself if you really want your content to be seen by 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, or even the whole world first. :)