Focusing on how the trend is affecting our friendships, Salzman gave the example of her husband’s decision to unfriend people on Facebook – something a lot of us will no-doubt relate to.

“My husband is a big progressive democrat and he’s constantly unfriending friends he’s had since nursery school – 50 years later,” she says. “He’s unfriending them because they post crazy right wing things and he can’t handle his own emotional reaction. And there’s no payback – it’s not like he’s going to go to breakfast with them on Sunday. Also, they’re maligning what he cares about.”

She adds: “Unfriending is pulling down your friends until you just have the friends who are giving you the positive messages you need. You don’t keep a friend around who’s dragging you backwards, because they’re adding to your emotional angst.”

But, although it’s important not to surround ourselves with negative people, there is the possibility that unfriending people – in real life and digitally – means we’re only surrounded by people who share our sensibilities. This can perhaps create an echo-chamber, when we should probably remain open to other people’s ideas and thoughts, or at least have an understanding of them.

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