According to my favourite Days of the Year website Comedian Jimmy Kimmel founded Unfriend Day in 2014 to combat the growing trend of social media profiles collecting ‘friends’ like Pokemon cards, amassing a ridiculous amount of ‘friends’ they barely know at all in short periods of time. I consider myself to be a bit of a social media expert and whilst I use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends. It still concerns me to see people adding complete strangers to their Facebook page. Especially when they have families. The dark web can be very dark in deed, and we owe it to ourselves and also those we love, to protect our digital footprint and theirs.
Oxford Dictionary’s 2009 word of the year was, in fact, “unfriend”, which it defines as, “verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.”
How to celebrate Unfriend Day
So why not celebrate Unfriend Day by taking advantage of this judgement-free opportunity to ditch the total strangers on your ‘friend’ list! If there is anyone who you don’t know, get rid of them! You have Linkedin for work contacts so don’t feel you have to share your private life with just anyone (not that you shouldn’t be careful of the pics you post on social media).
Be present with loved ones
Have you considered that you might also be neglecting loved ones sitting on your mobile phone for hours? Liking pics on Instagram. Retweeting on Twitter. Sharing stories on Facebook? As much as I would be lost without social media. It can also have a detrimental effect on your mental health. Remember all of the Fakebook and Insta stores are only telling a story that people want to put out in the world. So why not use today to spend more time with your friends, family and people you love.
Unfriend day guidelines:
So let’s get down to the rules for unfriend day. I intend to unfriend 10 people today. Not being judgemental or malicious in any way. It’s great keeping tabs with people who have been special in my life and who I have developed memories with. However I will scrutinise my Facebook and unfriend those who I don’t recognise or who no longer are meant to be in my life. It’s coming up to 2019 people. A new year. New You!
• If you wouldn’t loan someone 50 pounds, unfriend them.
• If you wouldn’t invite them to your birthday party, unfriend them.
• If you wouldn’t cry if they got hit by a bus, unfriend them.
It doesn’t have to be a hostile thing. They might not like you much either. And the day to do it is November 17th.
Get ready to unfriend!