While it's perfectly fine to add whomever you want to your friends list on your multiple social media platforms, it is interesting to think about which one of them would go the extra mile for you and have your back.
Strangers online revealed they found out the hard way who their so-called friends were when Redditor mediastoosocial asked:
"What's the sh*ttiest way a friend has shown you they weren't really your friend?"
Silent Treatment
These Redditors were ignored by people who were too cowardly to have honest conversations.
Death Of A Friendship
"Ghosted me after 20+ years of friendship. He was my best friend for as long as I can remember but at some point he just stopped saying yes when I suggested getting together. We could have a conversation about anything but the second I brought up doing something it was radio silence. He finally agreed to something then blew me off like an hour beforehand. No raincheck or suggestion we try again. I was depressed for days but that was the day I gave up."
"He was the best man at my wedding. I loved him like a brother and still hope he's doing well and happy. But the rejection hurts so much that I just don't try anymore. I've mourned the death of our relationship and am done with it. And I still don't know why."
You're On Your Own
"After 25 years of friendship...I announced to my best friend that I was moving to the city she was in. I had a great job opportunity and felt like it was an awesome time to make a big life change. I was so excited to tell her, I could hardly wait. She flatly replied with, 'cool'...and when I asked her what parts of town I should look at to live she stated 'I can't help you, you should just figure it out when you get here'. We never had a fight, had been close for our entire adult lives and I had continually helped her in all aspects of her life without hesitation. To this day, I cannot tell you why she started treating me this way. Long story short, we live in the same city and haven't seen each other in 6 years. And I'm quite sure we live minutes away from each other. I will prob never know what happened."
Repeat Offender
"I gave her a birthday present and she just said she didn't like it and found it in the thrash when I visited."
"She would always be late to everything."
"She got tickets to an Incubus concert and a meet and greet, it wasn't in our city so I saved all of my money to be able to afford the trip and a week before she texted me saying she was going to Disneyland so she sold the tickets."
"I painted a whole big beautiful mural in her room and two months later just painted over it with purple cause she got bored."
"Invited me for coffee and I got really excited because I hadn't seen her for a while and had a lot going on, I was almost homeless at the time so I took the little money I had to pay for my coffee, I got there and it was a MLM with like six other people (just as disappointed as me)."
"Then she did it again, I don't know why I thought it would be different, that's the last time I saw her."
– Kovvacs
The Worthy Replacement
"I had 12 hours before I deployed to Afghanistan. I lived about 6 hours from my point of departure (airport from which I would fly into theater) and my friend/ex-girlfriend had committed to driving me there on that day. Packed, dressed, goodbyes said, I take an Uber to her house with all my gear and baggage ready to go. I knock on the door and she answers in her robe. I ask her if she was about ready and she proceeds to tell me that she forgot (after we had talked 2 days prior) and that she really wasn't feeling like driving that distance. Utterly shocked and confused, I explain to her that if I miss my flight, it's considered a 'failure to report for duty' and I could be considered a deserter or AWOL.
Heavy consequences for it either way. She told me to figure it out and closed the door. At that point I had no idea what to do so I called my first sergeant. We worked in a very remote location and he was the closest person to me at that point. That man drove the 3 hours from his home to get me and then the other 6 hours to the airport. Bought me dinner and got me tipsy before I had to get on my flight. I had the stunning realization that day that you really can't trust anyone, but I gained a lifelong friend as a result. We still talk regularly 'til this day!"
Ditched On Graduation
"They all bailed on my college graduation and graduation party. And then accidentally included me on an email thread about all of them coming up with different excuses for missing my big day. It made me feel incredibly alone and I had no idea that they viewed me in such a negative light. As an adult I realize they were jealous...but back then, just assumed I had a major character flaw and started isolating myself from people."
Reddit Users Share Their Best 'It's A Small World After All' Experience
Deceptions
Lies and infidelity are not what define friendships.
After The Affair
"My best friend got with my first husband while I was pregnant, helped destroy our marriage, supported him so he could quit his job and avoid paying child support, joined him in abusing my kids while they were with him, and then tried to cry on my shoulder when he ended up screwing her over when they split after 14 years of jointly making my life a living hell."
When Lending A Hand Backfires
"Let a guy stay on the couch in my one-bedroom apartment so he wouldn't be living in his car. A few weeks later, he was sleeping with my girlfriend. I found out and kicked them both to the curb. 6 or 8 months later he calls me out of the blue and apologizes, then tells me she cheated on him and asks if he can move back in! Gave him a hard no and hung up on him. Last I heard from or of him."
Abandoned
"Promised to invite me to a group outing, only to text me one day out of the blue that they already left and 'oh well.' From mutual friends who went on the outing, they told me that this friend never told them that I was invited."
– Ahstia
Unnecessary Lie
"In 8th grade, after I switched schools, a friend of mine called me one night and told me a kid I wanted to be friends with killed himself. 3 months later I visit their graduation ceremony and find out he lied to me and that the kid was still alive."
Getting Beat Up
These Redditors recalled being involved in physical altercations.
Unpleasant Surprise
"Long time ago, but my tenth birthday party. The first time I'd actually tried to have a big group, it was around thirty kids at a park with a t-ball set up, normal picnic stuff, the like. My best friend at the time said he had a surprise for me in one of the fenced walkways leading to the park, where he sucker punched me and his other friend and he took turns jumping on and kicking me. After a few minutes another kid from the party saw, ran them off, and took me back to my ma away from the other kids so I didn't have to be too embarrassed."
The Confrontation
"My best friend since middle school got me knocked unconscious after starting a confrontation with a large group of guys. Proceeded to tell everyone we worked with that I had started it. Few weeks later I had returned from a holiday to my home country and he had moved one of his friends into my room at the place we were renting. Never talked to him again."
The Big Push
"This guy pushed me into the ground for no reason mid-sentence when he knew I was still injured from a car accident (which he knew I was hospitalized for). He then immediately turned his back and walked away without a word. I was too shocked to say anything immediately and he was gone. I wasn't saying anything bad or mean to him either, it was something casual akin to the weather. After that I had to slowly and carefully get up front my crouching position by myself and sat myself on a nearby fence to gather myself... When I later confronted him about it, he got super defensive saying it was just a light shove and a prank :/
Super not okay, I had to strain my back muscles really uncomfortably just so I wouldn't hit the ground and I don't think anyone should live in constant fear that their 'friend'" might at any minute risk paralyzing them for life just to get a cheap laugh.
"This same guy also kept parroting something my abuser said which I told the group in confidence. I told him to stop but he said he wouldn't and that I was being too 'PC' as if my personal story is something to be politically correct about???? I trust some people less now. No one seemed to care or stand up for me or anything and I felt utterly alone..."
"I do not talk to this guy anymore..."
The Potential Murderer
"They tried to drown me."
"For proper context we were doing a swim class in school, I did talk to a few teachers and the principal but none of them did anything so I at the time just figured nothing would come out of it if I kept on trying, though I do wish I did get something done about it legally."
– Saellios
Many of the Redditors in the thread expressed disappointment after someone whom they thought was a friend inexplicably ignored them.
People change and friendships evolve over time; however, that is no reason to deny a person of any sort of communication if one reaches out to the other.
Moving on from friendships happens, and it's fine.
It would be wise not to gain an enemy by disrespecting someone with whom you used to call a friend.
Reddit user Palehant asked:
"What was your best 'it's a small world' moment?"
Neighbors
When a neighbor of mine when I was a kid moved from Italy to Argentina, but we both ended up in the same dorm when we arrived to University in the UK...
Military Life
Had a best friend in California 3-5th grade. I moved and lost contact.
My freshman year of high school I moved to JAPAN and he was one of the first people I ran into. Became best friends again.
GiphyMissed Connections
One of the best? My current manager knew my brother who has a different last name then me. She was talking to me about a time in high school where a guy was terrible to her, I asked who... it was my brother.
I've also met my S/O about 5 times before truly meeting her. She danced with my sister's best friend.
She was friends with my step dad's youngest brother. She went to private school with a really good friend of mine who I played soccer with.
She was friends with a girl I had a huge crush on all of middle school. I didn't truly meet her until my sophomore year.
Keeping Up With The Joneses
My daughter and I went on a weekend trip to Chicago. Our neighbors went to Chicago the same weekend.
My daughter said "Maybe we will see the Jones in Chicago." I laughed and explained that there are millions of people in Chicago.
We ran into the Jones in Chicago.
GiphyCameo
A few years ago, I went camping with a friend, her family and some family friends. Got talking to a few girls there about hobbies we had when we were younger, and discovered that me and another girl had both been majorettes when we were little.
She had some old videos on her ipod, so we decided to watch them. In one, she collected an award for coming 2nd place in a competition, but for some reason her dad had kept filming after she'd gone back to her seat.
Lowe and behold, my name gets called, and you can see a little 6 year old me wander past to collect it.
Pure fluke, 10 years later, a considerable distance away from where we both grew up.
All In The Family
I tutored Woman A in Biology for about 4-5 months in 2005.
Hooked up with Woman B about a year later in 2006.
Hooked up with Woman C about a year later in 2007.
Woman C then introduced me to her mom who turned out to be Woman A and they told me that I "might" know their aunt who turned out to be Woman B.
Small town life.
Layover
Middle Europe inhabitant. I met a girl on internet randomly from Baltic states like 3 years or so ago. We have been chatting ever since, planned some meets but never got the chance to make them work since we both are high school students.
This summer, I was travelling and my flight went from Germany to Finland (no direct flights). I was hanging out in the airport and hear a familiar voice from endless calls say my name.
Lo' and behold, the girl I chatted with for so long stood in front of me. We haven't planned to meet or anything. She traveled to Turkey and had a plane here as well. We had a great time talking and laughing at that the world is, indeed, a small place.
GiphyFrom Down Under
I traveled from Australia to the US and the first person I ran into was a guy from my work.
Us Australians are just absolutely everywhere at all times.
He just wanted to know if you got those reports done before you left.
Online
I was playing Left For Dead 2 online in my college dorm and one of the guys that I was playing against was going to the same university, staying in the same dorm, on the same floor, like 8 doors down the hall.
We poked our heads out into the hallway and said hi, then went back to our game and never spoke again. Sometimes I don't believe it actually happened.
A couple of years ago, I was playing Rust a day or two before Christmas.
Joined a random server, quite quiet, maybe 20 people online. Got speaking to some dudes. Usual stuff 'where you from? etc... Scotland, ok me too! City? No way!' Then same town... same area of the town...
Guy literally lived around the corner from me.
GiphyCzech Yourself
I was in an island in Malaysia (I’m from Indonesia). I hung out with fellow solo travelers from all over the world, Poland, Egypt, France, Algeria, Italia, US, Czech, and many more.
I talked to this girl from Czech, I told her that I have a friend in Prague and visit him every now and then.
Turned out she’s friends with my friend’s colleague, and she lives on the street next to my friend...
- hellotyo
Well Read
Bought a book called Illywacker by Peter Carey at the WHSmiths in Victoria Station in 1993, read it, sold it to a second hand bookshop in Eastbourne a few weeks later.
2003, living in Dallas, got talking to a girl on a flight who was reading a book, told her about the book, we talked on email a few times but things petered out.
Few weeks later she orders Illywacker used on Amazon, shows up, my name is written on the inside cover.
Been together ever since. And we still have the book.
- cbohno
GiphyDNA
Me and my siblings all have different dads, (our mom didn’t hide this from us and was honest about our family history, which I appreciate) and one Christmas we decided to take DNA tests.
Several months later one of my siblings found out they had a sister with an almost identical first and last name to mine. After some research, we figured out they went to the same high school, at the same time.
- sniffmynips
The Early Bird
I live in Cambodia, one Saturday arranged to meet some friends at a bar we didn't ever usually go to, I ended up getting there a lot earlier and as I walked in I banged straight into a guy who was leaving.
Was one of my old best friends from my old home town, who I'd lost touch with over a decade before. Last I knew he was in Mexico and I was living in London at that time and had come to visit Cambodia for a couple of weeks.
A surreal experience and had I not got there 15 mins before I was due to we wouldn't have crossed paths.
- bongpros
GiphyThere is a website where you can get people to house-sit for you when you are on holiday (useful if you have animals). A lovely Australian couple came and house sat for us for two weeks.
On our return we got chatting and I mentioned I had an Australian cousin. He lived on the east coast whereas they lived on the west coast.
But then it transpired they had also house-sat for my cousin two years earlier...
- flounderbout
So back in 3rd grade I met this kid that we shall call Ben. Well, Ben was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. around the time I switched schools. So, me and this kid were good friends up until about 6th grade to when he moved to Germany.
Well back in like August or July of 2019 I joined a group post on Xbox for an rp thing on Minecraft. Well me and this guy that everyone called Chance became good friends.
Then me and Chance were playing some game together when he was talking about living in the USA and moving to Germany so I asked him some questions and come to find out it was Ben.
I got reunited with my old friend from my childhood over an Xbox group post and didn't realize it was him until months later.
- Ivarthegreat95
My family and I spent our holiday in Hong Kong and my friend went on a school trip there around the same time. I joked that we might see each other there.
Then we bumped into each other. Twice. Once in a theme park and the other in the train a few days later.
Bear in mind that we didn’t know about each other’s itinerary so it was a complete coincidence on both times.
- mostlikelytocry
GiphySmall Town
While in the military, I was reassigned to a base in a different part of the country.
Not long after arriving, my wife ran into an old friend from high school, who, as it turned out, had also recently been stationed there.
They both came from a small town of only about 3,000 people.
- itsallalittleblurry
Secret Superpower
I have a superpower of sorts, to attract people I know.
Take me anywhere and there is a 90% chance we will run into someone I know. It can be anyone, from anywhere, at any time.
So I have a ton of "it's a small world" moments. People from work, from volunteer shifts I've worked, from school, anywhere.
Well, it's not a superpower to me, anyway. I consider it a blessing and a curse.
- geico_fire
It really is a small world, isn't it?
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