Unfriend and Block: How People "Unfriended" Each Other Before Social Media (21 photos)

Maintaining or ending friendships on social media is practically effortless: if you like someone, you add them; if you change your mind, you unfriend them. The term “unfriend” was actually named Word of the Year back in 2009, right when the feature took off. Cutting someone out of your life has become infinitely easier since then—no awkward phone calls, face-to-face sit-downs, or dramatic confrontations required. You simply click “remove friend,” and that’s that.





Back in the day, things were entirely different. A single click wouldn't cut it. Instead, you had to sift through physical photo albums and painstakingly scratch out, ink over, or literally cut out the face of anyone you were no longer on speaking terms with.

Here is what "unfriending" looked like back then!