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5 Ways to Spot a Fake Friend

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter.

Friends come and go. That’s just a natural part of life. However, as often as it happens, it’s not uncommon for those with ill-mannered ways to sneak their way into your circle. Here are several ways to spot a fake friend!

 

1. They only call you, or text you, when they need a favor.

We’ve all encountered a person that does this. You don’t hear from them forever, and when you do there’s a favor involved. “Hey, girl. How are you? How you been? Lol, I haven’t seen you in forever. We should hang out sometime! Can I ask you for a favor?” The fake, forced conversation before they ask for a favor is the absolute worst.

 

2. No call, no show.

You make plans with this person, but there’s no real guarantee they’ll show up! They often ditch you at the last second, or not even attempt to let you know that they can’t make it.

 

3. Your friendship is shallow and lacks much substance.

If all you do when you meet up with this friend is smoke, drink, party and/or engage in similar behaviors it’s a very high chance that you all are not real friends. Your friendship is glued together by negative habits, and if not for that habit, you guys probably wouldn’t even see each other (or even care too!) Think about it. If you were unable to drink, or smoke, or do that thing y’all always do when together, would you all even continue to hangout?

 

4. They belittle you.

It’s obvious that they never mean to belittle you intentionally. They would never purposefully insult you but their compliments are never really compliments and often leave you feeling self-conscious. Sometimes, these insults may not come at you directly. Instead it’s more of, “You look so much better with makeup”.

 

5. They love to talk about themselves.

You’re so excited to see them! You can not wait till they come over so you can tell them all about your week. However, once you all are together everything seems to be about them. You tell them about a recent job opportunity and somehow, someway,  the conversation becomes all about them! They tend to want to one-up you as well. You tell them “I got a job at ..” and their remarks are something similar to, “Ew. I’d never work there!”.  Their remarks are rarely ever supportive and everything feels like a competition.  

If 2 or more of these reasons resonate with you, I think it’s time to dump that fake friend!

Hi! My name is Breona and I am a college student at the University of Texas at Austin. I am beyond friendly, so if you ever see me or want to hang out, don't feel afraid to message me at breonaautrey@utexas.edu . I am honored to be writing for HerCampus as I am consistently plagued with many ideas, short stories, a writings that'll help any woman (or man) pave their way through college. I am addicted to Twizzlers, allergic to chocolate, am multi-lingual and full of interesting stories. And, yes. I am serious.
Socialite, blogger, perfectionist; suffering from fomo and currently attending the University of Texas at Austin. Advertising major and member of Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity.