Who Shouldn’t I Friend on Facebook [VIDEO]

There are some people you should be friends with and then there are some people you shouldn’t click that add button for no matter how much they beg.

Stranger Danger

We all know not to talk to strangers on the street, but what about on Facebook? That’s still a big no no. A study done last year by ARS Technica says that about 20 percent of users would be willing to add someone who’s a complete stranger to their friends list. The better thing to do they say is to not totally add them as a friend, but politely decline the request and tell them that while you’d still like to interact, you don’t know them and persuade them to use the subscribe button instead. They can see your public posts, but won’t get full access to your profile. I’ve had to turn away some people here and there. I’ve felt bad, but there are just some people who don’t need to see what’s going on in my life.

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

There are a certain few who like to just be friends with everyone and will friend anyone who asks. If those people are on your friends list, you may want to unfriend them, or only give them restricted access to your page. Another good idea is to go into your account’s privacy settings and change everything to “friends only”. There is a “friends of friends” option, but then lurkers on your friends’ pages can see what you’re up to. My page is pretty locked down when it comes to who can see what and who can send friend requests. It’s just better to be safe than sorry.

I’m Sick *Cough Cough* HA HA! No I’m Not!

Experts say you should never, ever friend your boss. If you call in sick and then your boss sees a Facebook check in from the ball park, water park, theme park or shopping mall, you’re likely going to get fired. Complaining about your job, posting inappropriate pictures, (especially if they’re from the party last night and you called in sick today) or any number of other things could have you packing your desk. I’m friends in real life with coworkers and supervisors, and I don’t put anything on Facebook that I wouldn’t want my Grandma to see, plus I’m a square anyway, so I don’t worry, but if you don’t want your boss keeping tabs on what you do in your off time, it’s better to just leave the relationship at work.

Click Here! Check This Out!

It’s bad enough that we have ads from companies we don’t like or follow in our news feeds, so it’s a good idea to stay away from people who like to advertise everything on their page. Facebook is a great way to connect with people, but we have ads shoved down our throats everywhere we look, we don’t need our high school friend who’s in the PR business advertising this, that and the other thing and sending us invites to everything under the sun. Musicians also fall into this category. They’re advertising this show and that show and inviting you to all of their shows on the booking calendar whether it’s the local bar or a bar three hours away. I’ve had to unfriend more than a few people who’ve fallen into this category. If you don’t want to unfriend them completely, you can hide them, so you aren’t inundated.

Still Confused? Watch this handy video on How to Handle Awkward Facebook Friend Requests.