TikTok About 'How To Break Up With A Friend' Has Social Media Reeling And Ready To Just Get Ghosted

We've all been there: After sharing months or years of friendship, you suddenly realize you don't like hanging out with a person anymore. This can make for an awkward situation. How do you "break up" with your former friend? Do you simply stop responding to their messages and hope they get the point? Do you threaten to cut off your fingers every time they try to contact you?

TikToker @answeranxiety, aka Dr. Arianna Brandoli, has a different solution which appears to essentially be "tell them they're laid off from being friends."

@answeranxiety Here is how you break up with a friend 👍 #mentalhealth #relationships #breakups #friendbreakup #psychology #mentalhealthtips #selfhelptips #psychologist #friendship #healthyrelationships #emotionalhealth #selfesteem #boundaries ♬ original sound – Dr. Arianna Brandolini

Brandoli's TikTok, posted Monday, went viral on social media this week after it was reposted by Twitter user @diligenda, who captioned the video, "I’m an abolitionist, but there should be a prison sentence for anyone who ends a friendship this way."

i’m an abolitionist, but there should be a prison sentence for anyone who ends a friendship this way pic.twitter.com/eB6gAEpv7Z

— aisha (@diligenda) January 10, 2023

@diligenda, and subsequently many others, were left seemingly reeling from Brandoli's advice, largely due to how impersonal and corporate it sounds. To many, Brandoli's "How to break up" TikTok plays out like a scripted scene.

"I’ve treasured our season of friendship, but we’re moving in different directions in life," the Brandoli character doing the breakup says. "I don’t have a capacity to invest in our friendship any longer."

"I've been reevaluating many areas of my life recently, including my ability to be a good friend to you," she adds. She apologizes if the interaction "feels painful or confusing," and wishes them well.

For many, Brandoli's scene played less like the end of a friendship and more like a manager firing an employee.

ah yes another bit of “how to communicate thoughtfully with a person you love and/or at least care about” content where the takeaway is “talk to another person like you are their employer and they are your employee” https://t.co/UvHO77AqKQ

— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) January 11, 2023

i would rather someone just spit in my face than make me sit through this bitchy little self-obsessed HR speech https://t.co/Lh5LZEWJCH

— cait (@punished_cait) January 12, 2023

I would literally rather one of my friends shoot me in the face https://t.co/cgfTdrzXVh

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 12, 2023

The exchange also recalled the Emotional Capacity text template that went viral three years ago, as several users pointed out.

"Hey! I'm so glad you reached out.
I'm actually at capacity / helping
someone else who's in crisis /
dealing with some personal stuff
right now, and I don't think I can hold
appropriate space for you.” THE REMIX

— aisha (@diligenda) January 10, 2023

It's very much giving "I'm actually at my emotional capacity I don't think I can hold appropriate space for you" copypasta from last year. She got mocked the same for that. We never learn.

— polly bananarchy (@pollybananarchy) January 11, 2023

At the very least, the video brought up plenty of comparisons to The Banshees of Inisherin, a recent film about ending a friendship, which, according to a majority of critics and viewers alike, is very good, so if more people see it as a result of Brandoli's TikTok, then perhaps something positive came out of it.

girlbossified banshees of inisherin pic.twitter.com/94yHNEWEaf

— lucy (@heylucymay) January 10, 2023