I just opened Facebook (for the first time in months) and 3 of the top 5 stories are from friends. Not sure why you have such a different experience.

I tried the same a while back. I am now pretty sure it's part of the algorithm. If you stay away long enough, it reels you back in to scrolling by showing you some important updates first and before you know it, it draws you back into the abyss of AI generated content and ads and influencers.

edit: s/tells/reels