Why do some friends delete us from Facebook?

With a simple click, a friend can become a complete stranger. What makes them do it?

The inclusion of new technologies and the internet in people's daily lives has brought about major changes in many areasThe way we shop, the way we study, the way we entertain ourselves, and so on.

In addition, due to the internet, and specifically social networks, there has been a change in the way we relate to others, and has allowed us to meet many new people, people from all corners of the world.

Facebook makes friends... and enemies

But social networks not only allows us to make new friends, but also to unmake new friendships.. Research from the University of Colorado Denver (USA) has provided insights into why some people delete their friends from Facebook.

As concluded in the study, "They often do so because they consider the other person's views on religion or politics to be too radical.". This happens most often with high school classmates.

Your political ideology could be the main cause of 'exclusion' on Facebook

Facebook statuses and opinions are an opportunity to show our faces to the world and are a chance to express how we feel and what we think. Since Facebook burst with force into the lives of all of us, those of us who connect daily to this social network constantly see the status updates of our contacts.

In this sense, we can repeatedly see their opinions on politics, and we see reflected their deeply held beliefs and values.. We can also get to see their opinions in the different groups or posts, coming to appreciate their radicalism behind his words. It seems, then, that political ideology is a fundamental reason why we delete some friends. This can become tiresome and irritating, causing us to decide to remove the contact from our friendships.

Causes of being deleted from Facebook

The study was published in February 2014, and was conducted by sociologist Christopher Sibona for the University of Colorado at Denver. It was conducted in two phases: the first part of the study examined the context and profile of deleted individuals; and the second phase focused on the emotional responses of the individuals who had been eliminated.. 

The data were analyzed after conducting a survey involving 1,077 subjects via Twitter.

First phase of the study

Which friends are more likely to go through the 'guillotine'?

The results of the first study indicated that the individuals who had been eliminated most frequently were (following the order from highest to lowest):

• High school friends
• Other friends
• Friends of friends
• Work friends
• Friends of common interests

Regarding friends who work at the same company, "we found that people delete co-workers for real-world actions rather than for comments on social networks," explained Sibona. According to him, one of the reasons high school friends are the most deleted on social networks is because their political and religious beliefs may not have been as strong in earlier ages. At this stage of life, beliefs become stronger, making them more likely to offend friends.

What are the actions on Facebook that can irritate your friends?

In terms of the content of comments or statuses, the study found that the following were the most common reasons for removing a friend from Facebook:

• For habitually posting unimportant and inconsequential things.
• For writing very radical opinions on political or religious topics.
• For making racist, sexist or unpleasant comments.
• For constantly posting about their private life: what they are eating, how happy they are with their partner or what they are going to do at night.

Second phase of the study

How do we feel when someone deletes us?

Regarding the second phase of the study, i.e., the emotional reactions of individuals who are deleted from Facebook, Sibona found a variety of emotions associated with this event. The most common are the following:

• I am surprised
• I don't care
• I am amused
• I feel sad