Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2.8 billion monthly active users as of December 2021. On Facebook, users can connect with other people by becoming “friends” or by “following” their posts and updates without being friends.
There are some key differences between friends and followers on Facebook that impact how you interact and share information with other users. Understanding these differences allows you to better control your privacy settings and build your ideal social media connections.
Friends on Facebook
When you become friends with another Facebook user, it means you are mutually connecting with each other across the platform. Friend connections are two-way relationships where both people have agreed to link up. Your Facebook friends may include people you know well in real life, such as close family and friends, as well as acquaintances like distant relatives, coworkers, and classmates.
Some key things to know about Facebook friends:
- You both have access to each other’s profiles, posted content, and information like current city, employer, relationship status, and more. The amount of access depends on each person’s privacy settings.
- You will see updates from your friends in your News Feed by default.
- You can message and interact with each other across Facebook features like posts, comments, stories, and events.
- Being Facebook friends does not necessarily mean you are real-life friends. The connection simply indicates you both agreed to link up accounts.
The biggest factor that defines Facebook friends is that you both have access to more profile information and updates, compared to followers or subscribers you aren’t friends with. It’s a two-way, mutual connection across the platform.
Followers on Facebook
Following another person or page on Facebook simply means you want to subscribe to their public posts and updates. When you follow someone, it does not require them to follow you back. The relationship only goes one way.
Some key things to know about following users on Facebook:
- You can follow friends as well as pages and public figures you are not connected with.
- You will only see public posts from accounts you follow in your News Feed.
- Following does not give you access to the person’s full profile information.
- You cannot message or interact with followers who are not also Facebook friends.
- Pages, celebrities, artists, politicians, brands, and other entities have Facebook followings separate from friend counts.
Following allows you to stay updated from accounts you are interested in without needing a mutual, two-way connection. You remain in control of your feed and privacy settings.
Comparing Friend and Follower Counts
When evaluating someone’s Facebook profile, there are a few key things to note about their number of friends and followers:
- Friends are listed on the intro/about section of personal profiles. Followers are listed on page profiles.
- High friend counts indicate an active personal account with many mutual connections. High follower counts show an influencer, brand, or entity with a large subscriber base.
- Most standard personal accounts have friend counts in the low hundreds to low thousands. Public figures may have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.
- Having more friends than followers is common for everyday users. The opposite is true for public pages, celebrities, and brands.
In most cases, friends indicate two-way connections on Facebook, while followers represent one-way subscriptions. But the terms can overlap in some cases. Here are a few examples:
- You can follow a friend’s public posts without being connected to their profile.
- Some friends may never interact or appear in your feeds based on algorithmic factors.
- Pages let you friend and follow them. Friend connections increase post reach.
- Following someone provides updates but limits interactions.
Managing Friends and Followers
Facebook provides controls for managing your connections with both friends and followers. Here are some tips:
- Review tags and posts you are visible to based on each friend connection.
- Organize friends into Close Friends, Acquaintances, and Restricted lists to customize what they see.
- Unlike a page if their content is no longer relevant or appropriate.
- Delete spam or outdated friend connections.
- Block specific friends or followers from interacting with you.
Using Facebook’s privacy settings and organizational tools allows you to proactively shape your network and followers. Curate friends and followers to ensure your account aligns with how public or private you want to be.
Facebook Friends vs. Real Life Friends
There are some nuances between Facebook friend relationships and real-life friendships. Just because someone is in your Facebook friends list does not necessarily mean they are a close, offline friend. Similarly, real friends may not always overlap with Facebook connections.
Some things to keep in mind regarding the difference:
- You may have hundreds of Facebook friends that are casual acquaintances at best.
- Close real-life friends are not guaranteed to connect or interact with you on Facebook.
- The two groups often overlap significantly, but not always entirely.
- Facebook interactions are not always indicative of real-life relationship closeness.
- The platform supports maintaining wider social networks beyond just close friends.
Evaluate your Facebook connections based on the interactions and depth of the relationship, not solely the friend label. Determine who your closest confidants are beyond surface-level social media links. At the same time, recognize the value of broad, casual acquaintances on Facebook as well.
Pros and Cons of Facebook Friends
Weighing the pros and cons of Facebook friends helps reveal the complexities of social media relationships. Friends provide many benefits, but also come with some drawbacks to consider:
Pros
- Stay up to date on major life events and shared connections
- Feel more socially included by reciprocal interactions
- Strengthen real-life bonds through online communication
- Meet new people and find common interests
- Feel validation from likes and social acknowledgment
Cons
- Over-focusing on quantity of friends, not quality of connections
- Drama, social conflicts, or unnecessary comparisons
- False sense of closeness with loose acquaintances and distant friends
- Difficulty managing privacy settings across a large network
- Time spent maintaining online relationships rather than offline ones
The key is being mindful of how you engage with Facebook friends and not putting too much emphasis on superficial digital interactions. Value real life closeness over online quantity.
Tips for Managing Facebook Friends
Here are some tips to help thoughtfully manage your Facebook friend network:
- Review your list to remove old connections you no longer interact with.
- Hide acquaintances from your timeline posts if you don’t want them seeing certain updates.
- Organize friends into Close Friends, Acquaintances, and Restricted custom lists.
- Limit Friend requests to those you know well enough offline.
- Say no to requests from vague connections or strangers.
- Use Unfollow judiciously to clean up your feed from low-value friends.
- Block sparingly but decisively in cases of harassment or toxicity.
Curate your Facebook friends using the platform’s tools. Foster mutual, genuine connections both online and offline.
Should You Accept a Facebook Friend Request?
When you receive a Facebook friend request, here are some things to consider before accepting:
- Do you know this person well offline? Is it a close friend or family member?
- Is it a distant acquaintance like a former classmate or coworker?
- Is this a friend of a friend who you may share mutual connections with?
- Is this someone you only know through online interactions?
- Does accepting offer any benefit for strengthening your real-life social circle?
In general, only accept requests from those you have an established offline connection and relationship with. Avoid linking up with vague, unknown connections. Review settings to limit friend requests from strangers.
Unfriending Someone on Facebook
Unfriending or removing a Facebook friend is relatively simple technically but can feel socially awkward. Here are some tips if you’re considering unfriending someone:
- Unfollow first if you only want to avoid their posts, not fully disconnect.
- Determine if you can resolve issues with discussion before unfriending.
- Remember you can block someone without unfriending if needed.
- Don’t feel obligated to stay connected to toxic or negative ties.
- Consider if completely cutting off the relationship offline and online is necessary.
In most cases, unfriending does not necessarily need to be dramatic. It can be valuable for decluttering your connections down to those you have genuinely positive interactions with both online and offline.
Facebook Friend Limit
Facebook does not impose a hard limit on how many friends you can have. However, at 5,000 friends, different restrictions start to apply:
- You can no longer send some bulk messages to large batches of friends at once.
- Adding new friends gets an extra confirmation prompt.
- Facebook more aggressively sub-selects updates to show rather than all from friends.
These restrictions are intended to improve performance and enforce stricter community standards for accounts with over 5,000 friends. However, there is no one size fits all ideal friend count. Focus on curating genuine, quality connections over quantity.
Facebook Friend Requests from Strangers
Getting Facebook friend requests from people you do not know is common. Here is how to handle them:
- Confirm you actually don’t know them and they are not contacts under a different name.
- Check for other mutual friends that might connect you.
- Politely decline or just ignore the request.
- Make sure your settings limit who can send requests.
- Report suspicious accounts trying to scam or spam.
Avoid accepting friend requests from strangers. But you can exchange messages first to get to know them if a connection seems promising. Proceed cautiously sharing any private information.
Fake Friends on Facebook
Here are some signs a Facebook friend may be fake or up to no good:
- Connection came randomly out of the blue.
- Limited profile information and details.
- Posts seem scheduled, not natural.
- Account was recently created.
- Trying overly hard to connect or interact.
- You don’t know them outside Facebook.
Fake accounts often try to build connections for dubious reasons. Delete or block suspicious friends. Report ones that are outright scams or harassment.
Buy Facebook Friends
You can buy Facebook friends or likes from various online services. However, this is not recommended for most users for several reasons:
- Fake friends provide no meaningful connections.
- It violates Facebook terms of service if caught.
- Paid likes and comments seem disingenuous.
- Does not help build real community or engagement.
- Could spread malware or be used for scams.
Grow your friend network organically through genuine interactions. Quality connections matter more than vanity metrics on social media.
Facebook Friends vs Instagram Followers
Comparing Facebook friends to Instagram followers shows key differences:
| Facebook Friends | Instagram Followers |
|---|---|
| Two-way accepted connections | One-way following other accounts |
| 互ACCEPTED Connections with access to more personal info | More public figure or interest following |
| Notifications when friends post | Only see posts of accounts you follow |
| Mainly everyday real-life connections | Include celebrities, influencers, brands, etc |
| Profile-focused interactions | Post and story focused feed |
Facebook friends tend to be more personal, while Instagram followers are more about interests. But there can be overlap between the two groups for many users.
Facebook Friends vs Twitter Followers
Facebook friends and Twitter followers differ in these key ways:
| Facebook Friends | Twitter Followers |
|---|---|
| Two-way, accepted connections | One-way following other accounts |
| Real identity connections | Include anonymous accounts |
| reciprocal | Do not reciprocally follow all followers |
| Updates mainly shown chronologically | Algorithmically curated feeds |
| Mainly everyday personal life updates | More news, events, interests |
Facebook friends imply mutual personal connections, while Twitter followers are more informational. There is some overlap but they serve different primary purposes.
Facebook Friends vs Snapchat Friends
Snapchat friend connections have different implications than Facebook:
| Facebook Friends | Snapchat Friends |
|---|---|
| Post updates visible indefinitely | Snaps mostly disappear after viewing |
| Wider network connections | Tighter inner circle connections |
| Full profiles available | Limited profile information |
| Adults of all ages | Mostly younger demographics |
| Professional connections too | Mainly personal friends |
Snapchat friend connections imply a different type of relationship than Facebook, with privacy and impermanence being much greater concerns.
Conclusion
Facebook friends and followers serve different purposes when connecting with people. Friends indicate deeper, mutual personal relationships with more access and interactions. Followers offer a more one-way subscription to stay updated on accounts you are interested in.
Manage your Facebook connections thoughtfully. Curate friends who enrich your life online and off. Follow accounts that provide value through their public updates and posts. Understand the nuances between friends, followers, and real-life relationships to get the most out of social media.