FB basically tried this (it was basically what the "Like" widget on websites was for). It was a decent-ish heuristic for its time, but it ran into the fundamental issue that the people you consider "friends", the people you want to see life updates from, and the people who like the same kind of content you do, are groups with some overlap, but they are not the same people.
You probably want to see the pictures of your cousin's new kid, but you don't care for her flat Earth content or crocheting videos.
You probably want to see the pictures of your cousin's new kid, but you don't care for her flat Earth content or crocheting videos.