10 Signs They Are Fake Friends

Why There is No More Rent-Free Space for Such People in My Life

Sweet Home and the Social Apocalypse

I’m currently watching the Korean series Sweet Home on Netflix. I wouldn’t recommend watching it if you aren’t into monster apocalypses with a generous serving of CGI cheesiness. However, a couple of things struck me as far as typical apocalyptic movies go — people banding together to survive.

There’s always a leader, an opposition, and a bunch of cronies on either side. Loyalties constantly shift, backstabbing happens, and the exclusive inner circle, aka the sanctum secretum.

It’s not that different from modern-day friendship groups. I am no longer part of any, thank goodness, though I did have the pleasure (pun intended) of orbiting one or two as a peripheral friend.

Early Lessons in Friendship

I still recall my university days — a crash course in navigating big friendship groups that resembled a Hoberman sphere — always expanding and contracting. From the outside, it looked tight-knit, but it was mostly surface-level.

It just took something small, like a misplaced word or a forgotten invite, to shift the entire dynamic. It was exhausting and annoying. I…