Give carefully in your relationships. You should not give someone a heavy amount of time or consideration if they consistently violate your boundaries, blow you off, or otherwise disrespect you. Fake friends tend to engage in these behaviors. When you dig a bit deeper, you may realize that you have a common acquaintance. That acquaintance may even be someone with whom you have had a falling-out. A fake friend could be fishing for information purely so they can use it against you later. Make sure that you keep your antennas up for this type of behavior. 8. A Fake Friend Is Afraid To Get Close If you are highly sensitive or a people pleaser, you might be vulnerable to the kind of friend who takes advantage of you or manipulates you. Friends who monopolize conversations or only want to discuss their own lives and experiences, without giving you time to share your perspectives or feelings.”

Cut ties with them. We know it’s not easy being the one to initiate this, especially if you’ve had genuinely good moments with them.In the past year, I’ve observed how the political climate has torn apart the friendships of some people around me. Frenemies may be more common than you think. And here’s why: social neuroscientist John Cacioppo explains that humans evolved to prioritize avoiding enemies rather than making friends. Why is this? Jealousy: They may feel threatened by your successes and accomplishments. Instead of celebrating your achievements, they may try to downplay them or compete with you. You might confuse their passive-aggressive behaviors as signs that you need to step up and give more. 20 Clear Signs of Fake Friends

You don't necessarily have to have an explicit "breakup" conversation, Leeds says. You can prompt the relationship into ending naturally, by "matching your friend's effort put into the friendship, refraining from any favors, and holding firm to your boundaries," she explains, adding, "If this isn't enough to break your fake friendship, your friend may be more genuine than you'd realized."Then as you get to know each other, you find more and more commonalities. The areas you have in common are called relevance. The closer your spheres of interest, the more you like someone. Full disclosure: I have watched this 60-minute masterclass myself and found it extremely valuable as a way to improve my own relationships. Maybe they try to use it as leverage to gain the “upper hand” in the friendship and manipulate you. I am seeing now that the times we did talk or hang out was the times he was in trouble or needed help or something I had, I hardly ever hear from him other than those reasons or sometimes gossip, not spreading about me, just telling me about others (red flag). I have noticed he does not respond to my calls or texts until it suits him(red flag), wow thank you for this it has opened my eyes and has gotten me to believe what I knew for a while but didn’t want to believe! A lot of what you said makes much more sense to me now, easier to see! Again Thank You and God Bless !!

If you have a real friend, he or she will encourage you to explore your interests. The fake friend will not even want to talk about your personal interests.According to Kelly Campbell, a professor of psychology at California State University, a “toxic friendship is one that violates the norms and expectations of friendship.” Guilt-tripping does not happen when you are with real friends. This is because real friends understand your time and respect your priorities. If you do not find the time to call them or can’t spend time, they will not feel bad. But fake friends will love to send you guilt-tripping for every such occasion. 7. Your promotion will make fake friend jealous Your promotion will make fake friend jealous Unsurprisingly, she found the more an officer felt undermined, the more unauthorized breaks they took, the more absent they were from work, and the less committed they were to their jobs. When you force yourself to spend time with someone or pretend to have a good time, you either are lying to yourself, or lying to them. This is not truthful living. After all, it’s fun to have someone to tell stories with. Plus, who doesn’t like getting teased once in a while about their love interests?

Fake friends, however, don’t care how you feel. The more you listen to them, the more powerless you feel. Your goals, your dreams, and your talent are somehow invisible to them. Fake friends use you You’re just someone expected to parrot their opinions. And if you keep on disagreeing with them, they will stop talking to you until you ask for their forgiveness. According to a piece in New York Times, “betrayal makes for a bad friendship” and “when friends split up”, “it is often in cases where one hs shared personal information or secrets that the other wanted to be kept confidential.” Low self-esteem: Fake friendships can cause you to question your worth and negatively impact your self-esteem.The fair-weather friend: Fair-weather friends are there when times are good, but are nowhere to be found when things are tough. You know how in romantic relationships, you have “The Talk?” That talk is the pinnacle of nerves, awkwardness, and sometimes resolution. “The Talk” usually has a number of goals: A fake friend is someone who pretends to be your friend but he or she just uses you for their benefit.