Discover more about the psychology of false friends. Find out how to clean up your life and gain respect in this fast-paced world!

Friends are an integral element in the success or failure of a person. This is one of the reasons why it is important to recognize false friends in your life.

It is a common belief that a person can be judged by their friends who are basically their closest people apart from their parents or special someone.

Hence, a good friend is someone who offers more than just a good pastime. They would be coming in with recommendations to make your life better, will show you a lot of respect, will stay loyal to you and won’t be judgmental.

All these attributes make a good friend who also happens to be incredibly hard to find in this fast-paced world. Unfortunately, false friends are much more common today.

It is extremely important to identify a good friend. But it is equally important to be aware of the false ones. Looks can be very deceptive and it is easy to live a life filled with false friends.

Problems that may come up because of such friends may not be apparent straight away. But unhealthy friendships will have an impact on your life sooner rather than later.

Identifying a false friend is easier said than done. Still, there are three types of false friends who should not be part of your life.

These false friends are:

1. Self-centered and Selfish Friends

Everyone faces problems in their lives and friends are often the go-to persons when it comes to solving those issues. A true friend stays by your side and offers you the help you need to get out of the troublesome situation.

Yet, it is also possible to encounter friends who may have a self-centered approach. There is a slender difference between being selfish at all times and being selfish on certain occasions.

The self-centered friends who may not offer much assistance in the times of need come under the category of a false friend. Unsurprisingly, they can be amongst the easiest to identify. In most cases, this identification may come a little too late. That’s why it is important to identify the friend who is self-centered at all times.

Their day-to-day behaviors can reveal this trait. The most common one is that these friends often try to make themselves the center of attention. They love high praises but don’t provide much respect in return.

Moreover, these high praises often have no substance. They are merely a way to receive special treatment in response. Deep within, these selfish friends often regard their friends as just an addition to their own persona.



2. Cheater Friends

This is a category which may even include a friend who has been a true companion in the past. Such is the cruelty and wickedness of this character that it may even affect the most loyal companion at some point. The cheater may not have necessarily caused a disadvantage to you. Still, the intention alone is enough to cause a breach of trust.

Unlike other relationships where there is a greater sense of connectivity, friendship largely revolves around a trust circle. Once it is broken, it becomes hard to repair the same.

However, it is possible to stay away from such cheaters – even if they have been true and loyal in the past. An abrupt end to the friendship may not be recommended in such a scenario, but you need to set healthy boundaries if you want to prevent a similar incident in the future.

A false friend may decide to cheat because of their greed or other evil motivations.

It is possible that you are just unaware of unhealthy behaviors in your circle. Often, false friends would be looking at financial benefits. Sometimes they try to take advantage of you toimprove their own social status.

There are two ways of dealing with a cheater friend. In some cases, it is possible to remain, friends, if you manage to restrict the comfort levels of the past. Otherwise, you may have to do away with the friendship as a whole.

Many people believe that the trust is an invisible line that cannot be redrawn or repaired once it has been rubbed away. There is also a popular belief that once a cheater will always be a cheater.

False friends who happen to cheat will also come up with things that you want to hear rather than a fruitful advice. This, in turn, makes them selfish and in most circumstances, it is best to stay away from such characters.

3. Manipulative Friends

One of the worst qualities to have in a friend is manipulative behavior. These false friends would come in with various statements or actions that would serve to change your behavior – often without notice.

Such manipulative behaviors will be to the benefit of the false friend. This person will also try to cocoon you into believing that you are on the right path. This happens to be one of the worst qualities as the victim may find it difficult to accept that they are being manipulated once it goes beyond a certain stage.

A friendship with a manipulative person will only bring you deep regrets and lost opportunities.

Manipulative behavior is certainly amongst the most dangerous traits in a false friend. They can make your move in the direction that they want. It can have serious implications in your life as it may hurt you more than just in a financial way.

Often, the false friend is behaving this way in order to make their climb up the social ladder. Such false friends have a lot of tricks up their sleeves to manipulate and fool you for the sake of their purpose.

Those who face such behaviors know that the manipulative false friend cannot be trusted in any circumstance. This kind of friend simply won’t be around if they have achieved their goal because they will no longer need you.

For these reasons, you need to identify such manipulative false friends the soonest as this type is the most dangerous on this list. A 2016 study associated manipulation with a lack of important friendship characteristics such as being able to express personal feelings and thoughts, providing comfort whenever needed, or simply being fun to be with.

Friends can be the biggest asset in any person’s life, but they can also bring trouble when you make friends with people who seek to take advantage of you.

You need to identify such people in your life and step away from them if you don’t want to fall into a deep trap.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss new life-advancing articles!

Copyright © 2014-2024 Life Advancer. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Ruth

    So informative article.

  2. Bennett

    A very productive lesson I have learned today.

  3. Soulful

    A friendship with a manipulative person will only bring you deep regrets ,indeed

  4. Shawn

    Can you explain what you mean by a cheater friend, do you expect you friends to be solely yours and no one else’s friend? That term is vague and almost sounds like possession of someone solely for your use and that you are a #1.

Leave a Reply