Unfriending

For the past several months I've been whittling away at my Facebook friends, slowly removing superfluous relationships. I since have removed over 400 friends. It was difficult at first; I enjoyed appearing popular and didn't want to offend anyone. However, with a little practice it becomes easy—and almost addictive. I don't feel like vomiting every time I visit Facebook anymore: there's less clutter, no more struggling to put names with faces, hiding nuisances from my feed, or avoiding people.

In addition, I've realized that unfriending has another very important benefit—a security one. Each friend you add introduces risk: you have bound your accounts together. If a friend's account is compromised, even with a "Friends Only" privacy policy, your information is exposed. Unfriending people you don't know well reduces your attack surface and keeps your exposed data safer.

Establish a circle of trust; just because you took a class together, attended the same school, or met at a party doesn't make you friends. Don't hesitate to ignore friend requests or remove people you don't communicate with. I've found purging my friend list to be incredibly refreshing and empowering: I spend less time on Facebook because I only see what I care about, and I can better maintain important relationships. You only have so much time and energy in this life—invest it in people that matter to you.