Why I don't unfriend people on Facebook

I've had very few occasions where I have unfriended people on Facebook for any reason.  I've had a couple of scuffles with some people where they were stealing my pictures and content and using it for their own, and in that occasion, I actually block them, rather than unfriend them.  I don't friend people I don't know in the first place.

I was recently posting a post on my Facebook wall encouraging my friends and family to consider making their holiday purchases with some of my friends that are direct sellers.  In my effort to tag all of my fellow direct sellers, I noticed that one of them had unfriended me recently.  I messaged her to ask if she was still doing it, and she replied that she still was. 

I responded back that I was trying to tag and recommend my friends that are direct sellers and noticed that we aren't friends anymore on Facebook.  Here's the response I received back:

"It is nothing personal, about 3-4 times per year I go through and delete a ton of people... I try really hard to keep fb limited to family (because ours is huge and we live far away from them) and closer friends. Sorry! I usually message people to let them know, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Thank you for thinking of my little business"

I wanted to scream back at her that it is personal, if she chose to remove me!  It hurts my feelings. Not only that, but, I won't be recommending her, or purchasing anything from her in the future! This leads me to sharing with you the top reasons that I think, especially as a small business owner, why it's unwise to unfriend people on Facebook.

Top Reasons not to Unfriend People on Facebook:

1. It hurts their feelings - Ok, I know that Facebook doesn't notify you that someone unfriended you, but I do notice when people have removed me.  I usually stumble upon it when I try to message that person, or I see them comment in a group or common friend's posts. 
2. It's bad PR!  Let's face it, we all usually have some sort of agenda on Facebook at some point.  Whether you are in direct sales, looking for a job, trying to sell something in a rummage sale group, or just trying to network with others, it's very important to be friendly with everyone on your Facebook page.  I's just not friendly to unfriend them.
3. "It's who you know, not what you know."  A quote that really ruffled my feathers recently when a very successful business person in my town told me that.  I don't really like the thought that you can get an up in this world by who you know, but the truth is you can.  You don't know who can help you find a job, or recommend your product that could lead you to the next million dollars!  A comment I made on Facebook recently on our struggle to find affordable health insurance led me to a friend I went to grade school with that is an accountant and he's willing to help with our taxes!  You just never know who might be able to help you in the future (or you help them!).
4. Unfriending, makes your in-person interactions awkward at best!  I just don't know what to say to my "unfriend" above the next time I see her in the grocery store with her kids, or when I go to have an X-ray done by her at our local clinic.  Do I say: "Oh, hi unfriend - so good to see you in person.  I really miss you on Facebook?"  or "Now that I have no idea what's going on in your life, how are the kids?" or "Are you still talking to me, now that I'm not good enough to be your Facebook friend?"
5. There are so many options to make sure that people are not seeing you or that you are not seeing them that you don't need to unfriend them.  You can block people from seeing posts.  You can even hide their posts from you seeing them in your feed.

I personally spend a lot of time networking with people online through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to promote my direct sales business.  I don't need to make one person feel hurt by unfriending them on Facebook.  No relationship is worth that!  If you are concerned about that, then don't friend anyone in the first place!  In fact, don't even be on Facebook, because everyone has a reason behind being there.  If you can't commit to being friendly on Facebook, don't go on Facebook.

What do you think, are there any reasons to Unfriend someone on Facebook?  The only reason I can think of that they are a danger to your life.  Hopefully, that's not the case.