Say “Hey Sarah, do you have a few minutes to talk after school? I was thinking we could get ice cream. I wanna chat about something. ”
You can say “Lately, I’ve been feeling like every time I buy a shirt or pair of shoes, you go out and buy the same ones. I’ve tried to ignore it but it’s been bothering me and I wanted to talk to you about it. ”
They might also admit that they’ve been copying you. If you tend to get more attention or are more confident, them copying you could be a way to feel cooler. Remember that you friend may be copying an aspect that they admire about you and that it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
For instance, you might say “Kris, you have such a fun personality and I don’t know why you’d want to change that to be more like me. I want to be friends with YOU, not a copycat version of myself. ”
If they say that you’re crazy for thinking they would copy you, say something like “In two weeks, you bought four of the same shirts I have. You even cut your hair in the same style as mine. Maybe you didn’t notice what you were doing, but it does seem like you’re copying me. ” When they make valid points, let them know that you understand where they’re coming from.
Say something like “I’m glad we could talk about this. Thanks for hearing me out. I still want us to be friends; that hasn’t changed. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
You might also consider limiting their access to your profiles so they can’t access your updates.
Don’t keep all of your successes to yourself, though! Share with your family and friends who don’t copy you.
For instance, if your friend has a few of the same shirts as you because they liked them, is it really worth confronting them over? If the copying is low level, you might decide instead to just table the issue for now.
You might say, “John, I’ve noticed that Charly sometimes copies my ideas and he has even bought a few of the exact same ties as me. Have you noticed anything? I wanted to check with you before I said something. ”
For instance, perhaps they used your same research topic for a paper, and now your professor thinks you copied them. If they are copying you to the point that they are hurting you academically or professionally, it’s probably best to sever ties at least temporarily.
