Some of those consequences highlighted the way social media relationships affected people in the real world. "But, in fact, what you do on those sites can have real-world consequences." "People think social networks are just for fun," said study author Christopher Sibona, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Denver Business School at the time of the study. Tip: Want to improve your business's Facebook presence? This small business Facebook marketing guide can help you improve your strategy. This could also have implications for entrepreneurs marketing their small business on Facebook.
Women were more likely than men to avoid someone who unfriended them, the researchers found. In particular, the researchers found that 40% of people said they would avoid someone who unfriended them on Facebook, while 50% said they would not avoid a person who unfriended them, and 10% were unsure. You may want to think twice before unfriending someone on Facebook: Research has found serious real-world consequences of unfriending someone on social media.