Kueri Anda saat ini hanya akan mencantumkan hasil jika semua tabel memiliki link dengan tabel teman Anda. Saya yakin Anda lebih mencari sesuatu seperti ini
SELECT following
FROM friends
WHERE follower='id'
UNION ALL
SELECT following
FROM family
WHERE follower='id'
UNION ALL
SELECT following
FROM following
WHERE follower='id'
UNION ALL
SELECT following
FROM acquaintances
WHERE follower='id'
atau sedikit lebih bagus untuk dibaca dan lebih mudah disesuaikan dengan mengorbankan beberapa performa
SELECT following
FROM (
SELECT following, follower FROM friends
UNION ALL SELECT following, follower FROM family
UNION ALL SELECT following, follower FROM following
UNION ALL SELECT following, follower FROM acquaintances
) AS f
WHERE follower='id'