Facebook’s “People You May Know” feature suggests new friends based on mutual connections, shared interests, networks, education, and workplaces. This can lead to unexpectedly reconnecting with people from your past or present that you may or may not want to friend on Facebook.
Why Does Facebook Suggest People You May Know?
Facebook suggests people you may know to help expand your network on the platform. The feature utilizes data and algorithms to find people you likely have some connection to already, even if you are not currently friends on Facebook. Some common reasons Facebook recommends certain people include:
- You have mutual friends
- You are in the same Facebook groups or networks
- You have similar interests and Facebook activity
- You went to the same school or workplace
- The other person has searched for you or looked at your profile
- You have overlapping contact information like phone numbers or email addresses
- Location data suggests you live, work, or spend time in the same areas
Facebook’s algorithms work continuously to analyze your profile, contacts, metadata, and activity to find potential connections. The platform wants to provide friend suggestions that will be the most relevant to you and that you are most likely to accept. Expanding social graphs keeps users engaged on Facebook.
How Do Suggested Friends Appear?
Facebook provides friend recommendations in a few ways:
- People You May Know column – A column will appear on the sidebar or menu of your Facebook homepage with profile pictures and names of recommended friends.
- “You have X mutual friends” notices – When viewing someone’s profile who is recommended to you, it will say “You have X mutual friends” or “You have X friends in common.”
- Notifications – You may get notifications like “John Doe and 15 mutual friends joined Facebook.”
- Messages or posts – Friends may tag or mention people in messages and posts who will then be suggested to you.
Friend recommendations on Facebook are practically unavoidable since the platform wants to connect as many users as possible. You’ll constantly see new suggestions no matter how often you add recommended friends.
What Happens When You See Recommended Friends?
When the People You May Know feature suggests someone familiar from your past or present, it can have many different effects:
- Positive reconnections – You may be excited to reconnect with old friends you’ve lost touch with over the years. Friending them on Facebook can help you keep up with their life events and strengthen your existing bond through online interactions.
- Awkwardness – Some people from your past are suggested before you’re ready to reconnect, like ex-partners or friends you’ve grown apart from. This can create awkwardness.
- Confusion – You may not remember some suggested friends at first glance, leaving you confused about how exactly you are connected. The vague friend recommendations require you to dig into your shared connections and memories.
- Ignored requests – For people you would prefer not to interact with again, you can simply ignore the friend suggestions or “X” out the box.
- New connections – Friend recommendations may introduce you to new people that you share common interests and networks with, expanding your social circle.
- Privacy concerns – Seeing very specific recommendations can be concerning to some if they feel Facebook has too much personal data about them.
How Do People React to Suggested Friends?
There is a wide range of possible reactions when Facebook suggests new friends:
- Some eagerly accept many or all friend requests, excited to grow their network and reconnect.
- Others are more selective, only accepting people they remember fondly or still interact with in person.
- Many are cautious about friending bosses, co-workers, acquaintances, or people they no longer want contact with.
- Some ignore most requests out of privacy concerns or desire to keep Facebook connections limited.
- A number of users get frustrated and annoyed by what they see as intrusive friend suggestions.
- Suggestions may remind some people of other relationships and social circles they miss.
- In rare cases, a recommended friend may resurface unwelcome memories of past harassment, bullying, or abuse.
- platonic friend requests are sometimes misinterpreted as romantic interest.
Overall, people have complex and diverse reactions when seeing familiar faces suggested as new Facebook friends. The feelings raised depend heavily on the individual person’s history, personality, preferences, and approach to connecting on social media.
How Can You Manage Friend Suggestions?
If you want to limit friend recommendations and who can see your profile, there are a few options:
- Adjust privacy settings – Control who can send you friend requests or see posts and info about you.
- Decline unwanted requests – Just hit “Ignore” or “X” to decline requests.
- Unfollow people – Unfollowing someone means you stay Facebook friends but their public posts no longer show in your feed.
- Turn off location tracking – Facebook uses location info to suggest local friends, so turning that off reduces suggestions.
- Delete contacts – Remove contacts you do not want recommended to you anymore.
- Remove profile info – Having fewer shared data points like schools, workplaces, or interests can reduce friend suggestions.
While you can’t eliminate People You May Know completely, these tips can help curate who the feature recommends and give you more control.
Should You Accept Friend Requests from People You Barely Know?
Friending acquaintances or loose connections suggested on Facebook can be tricky. Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Potential Pros
- Broaden your social circle and connections
- Find new friends with shared interests or experiences
- Network and exchange ideas with a wider range of people
- Feel more socially included by having more Facebook friends
- Learn more about the people, places, and organizations around you
- Give others the chance to learn more about you too
Potential Cons
- Overwhelming or irrelevant updates and posts from loose connections
- Feeling pressure to interact on posts of distant friends
- Blurring of professional and personal boundaries online
- Privacy and security risks from extending your social network too far
- Misinterpretations due to lack of deeper relationship and context
Evaluate friend requests against your personal boundaries and comfort level. It can be beneficial to widen your social circle online, but only if new friends are positive additions to your Facebook experience.
Should You Reconnect with a Difficult Person from Your Past?
Seeing the profile of someone you had a painful history with resurface in your friend recommendations can be unpleasantly jarring. As you decide whether to accept their friend request, reflect on a few key questions:
- How negatively did this person impact you in the past? What specifically did they do?
- Do you believe they have grown or changed since your last encounter?
- What do you hope to gain from reconnecting?
- Could interacting negatively impact your mental health or relationships?
- Would simple social media contact open the door for more involvement in your life?
- Does their friend request seem motivated by sincerity or something else?
- Do you feel prepared to set and enforce boundaries as needed?
Every situation is unique, but typically it’s wise to avoid friending exes, former bullies, toxic friends, and anyone who harmed you without remorse. That said, some find value in cautiously opening dialogue with difficult people from the past. Reflect carefully before deciding.
How Do Friend Suggestions Impact Relationships?
Facebook’s friend recommendations can influence relationships in various ways:
- Reconnecting lost friendships strengthens bonds between people who have fond memories.
- Accepting co-workers blurs professional and personal boundaries, which can be positive or negative.
- Friending new acquaintances helps expand social circles and forge new bonds.
- Seeing an ex or former friend’s activities can reawaken old feelings and memories.
- Misinterpreting platonic friend requests as romantic interest can damage existing relationships.
- Declining a friend suggestion could offend the person or halt real-world interactions.
- Having more Facebook friends increases opportunities for social interaction and support.
- Connecting with controversial people can create tension with certain friends or family members.
Think carefully about how new online friends might impact your other relationships before accepting requests. With awareness, Facebook connections can enrich your social world.
Are People You May Know Suggestions an Invasion of Privacy?
For some, overly specific friend recommendations feel like an invasion of privacy by Facebook. But in most cases, the feature simply utilizes data you willingly provide and basic friend suggestion algorithms. Still, there are a few privacy considerations:
- Facebook likely only accesses data in your profile and activity that you agree to in their terms of service.
- However, some means of generating recommendations, like accessing your contacts and metadata, could feel invasive to certain users.
- You can control what information is visible to restrict data Facebook uses for recommendations.
- Facebook also collects public data, so completely eliminating friend suggestions is impossible without deactivating your account.
- If you’re very concerned, regularly revoking app permissions, turning off location services, and being selective about posting can help.
Friend suggestions are intended to enhance user experience, not spy on people. But Facebook does leverage your personal data, so privacy concerns are understandable. Finding the right balance comes down to individual comfort levels.
How Can You Use Suggested Friends to Your Advantage?
Here are some ways to benefit from Facebook’s friend recommendations:
- Connect with old friends with whom you want to reconnect.
- Expand your professional network by friending co-workers and colleagues.
- Meet new people who share your hobbies, interests, or beliefs.
- Join new groups and communities through suggested friends with similar lifestyles.
- Get to know more people in your local area.
- Discover new brands, businesses, influences, and services to try.
- Broaden your perspectives by friending people from different backgrounds.
- Increase your visibility and reach to others by having more friends.
Be selective about who you accept, but an openness to new friendships can lead to rewarding connections you may otherwise miss. Use Facebook’s algorithms to enhance your social and professional circles.
Conclusion
Facebook’s People You May Know feature can resurface forgotten connections, forge new bonds, and rekindle past relationships in both positive and negative ways. It reflects how social media connects us to a web of people from our past and present. With thoughtfulness and care, suggested Facebook friends can expand your world. But improper use can also disrupt your life. Understanding the impacts and managing friend requests accordingly is key to ensuring Facebook suggestions bring value rather than unwanted disruption.