Unfriend Day? Not for Girl With 5,000 Facebook Friends

NOV. 17, 2010— -- "All for un and un for all." So said comedian Jimmy Kimmel, promoting today's "National Unfriend Day."

Arguing (with a smile) that bloated Facebook friend lists are undermining true friendship, the late-night host launched a national "campaign" to shed fake friends on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" two weeks ago.

But as Facebook users around the country start trimming their "friend fat," an Oklahoma student, who has reached the social networking site's limit of 5,000 friends, insists that she really doesn't have much to cut.

Chinh Doan, a 20-year-old journalism major at the University of Oklahoma, says she has been on Facebook for five years. Although she knows that her friend count is unusually high (Facebook says the average user has 130 friends), Doan said she is cautious about whom she accepts as a friend and has no intention of whittling things down.

"I don't see anything wrong with having that many Facebook friends. I know Jimmy Kimmel likes to say that it's impossible to get to know that many people and there's not a point in it," she said. "I can't say I know all of my 5,000 friends well. But what better, easier way to get to know people on your own time? And they can get to know you on your own time. I just keeps staying in contact a lot easier."

Technically, Doan has 4,847 friends and 123 "likes" on Facebook. But since the site counts both numbers against a user's friend count, she's had to think more carefully about the friends and fan pages she adds.

To keep adding friends, she's had to "unlike" content on Facebook. But will she take advantage of Kimmel's made-up holiday to get rid of a few friends?

"Probably not," she said.

Kimmel might insist that no one – not even Oprah Winfrey – can have 800 friends, but Doan said, "to each his own."

"Some people want to share with just their closest friends and that's great," she said. "There are others, like me, who really want to enjoy networking and getting to know people."

Even though she might post her typical three to four daily status updates, she said she doesn't want to focus on Facebook over school today.

"It might sound silly to some people, but days like today should serve as a reminder to people about the role of social media now in today's world, and the importance of being cautious when using social media," she said.

But other Facebook users said they are grateful for the excuse to clean the cobwebs out of their friend lists.