In Lent, we learn to live simply so others may simply live. We eat less, shop less and even take social media breaks. But we don’t seem to apply this same idea of less being more to our friends’ list on social media.

There have been countless studies that have demonstrated that 150 people are the maximum ideal size for a community. This is known as Dunbar’s number, which suggested a cognitive limit to the number of people one can maintain stable social relationships—relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to each other. Past 150 it becomes tenuous to maintain meaningful relationships with individuals.

And while social media allows us to break many rules there really must be a cap to the number of “friends” we have on Facebook if we truly want to have meaningful relationships where our lives become a light for others.

It is tempting to say yes to that “friend” request from the person you lost track with from high school twenty years ago. You might even chat once or twice, but quickly they just disappear into an endless stream of noise in our news feeds.

My rule of thumb for Friends on Facebook is simple. Would I have dinner with them? And, would I look them up to invite them for dinner? If the answer is yes, I accept the friend request, if the answer is no to either one, I let it go.

I also use this same rule to periodically go through my friends’ list and bring down the number to a manageable level where I get to interact with each person on my list.

In a world where Likes and Shares dominate we tend to think in numbers and the bigger the number the better. And while Lent is over, spring though is upon us and perhaps weeding our social media gardens should be in the offering. After all, trimming the excess will allow our other relationships to flourish more deeply.