Can you believe it? It’s almost Thanksgiving already!
Before you know it, our Facebook news feeds will be flooded with everyone stopping to reflect on things for which they are grateful in their lives. And let’s be honest… after surviving the increased political rantings of the elections earlier this month, won’t it be nice to have something positive to look at?
But don’t worry – it’s not long until Black Friday when all the thankfulness starts to fade away and the unadulterated rage and fury of holiday shopping will restore the anger to Facebook.
Because of the nature of my business, I spend a large portion of my day on various social media sites. And even though we all need to vent sometimes (inconsiderate people who don’t use their turn signals and slow people who clog up self-checkout lines are my biggest pet peeves), sometimes enough is enough! We’ve all got that friend on Facebook who does nothing but complain, right?
Unfriending them seems a bit harsh, especially if they are a good friend who just magically turns into a black hole of emotional need online… but did you know there is an option to still be friends but not see their posts?
It’s the UNFOLLOW feature.
Here’s how to unfollow someone in a few easy steps:
- Go to the Facebook profile of the offending (or is it offensive?) party.
- If you are viewing Facebook on the full site (desktop or laptop), look towards the bottom right corner of their cover photo on the top of the profile. There should be a box that says “Following” with a checkmark next to it. Click the dropdown arrow next to Friends. Click this box and the checkmark will go away.
- If you are viewing Facebook on the mobile app, you will see a Friends icon under their profile picture. (insert screenshot) Click on that and then click Unfollow.
- ENJOY LIFE!!!
And that’s it! You will still be friends with this negative time-suck on Facebook, but your NewsFeed will be purged of their draining ramblings.
Yeah. You’re welcome.
TODAY’S QUESTION: Have you Unfollowed someone on Facebook yet? If so, what made you do it. If not, what are you waiting for?
SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
Great post Brian!
Let’s just say I have both unfollowed and been unfollowed.
I have a relative on the opposite side of the political spectrum that me. She asked me to stop posting political stuff (actually she would have been fine with them had they been in line with her politics). I actually showed her how to unfollow me on FB, while promising her that at family functions we would stick to neutral topics. It worked well – she does not have to see anything contrary to her liking, and I get to still enjoy family functions.
Well played! I’m also known to be a bit opinionated. (I know… SHOCKING, right?) So the Unfollow option can save relationships on both sides. Love your example!
I loved this blog! Keeping FB positive is a wonderful goal, whether it be by unfollowing or spreading positive posts as much as possible! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! If we’re all going to spend so much time on social media, we might as well make it a positive place, right? 🙂
Great option Brian. Thanks. I’m with Marilyn. It’s always the political stuff. I follow a number of people I quite like on Facebook, but the hateful, fantastic ramblings that come out, makes me wonder if we could possibly be living in the same country and seeing the same things. And it just gets worse and worse. I just don’t want to see it. I’ll stick with facts and science and unfollow the rest.
Once I learned how to unfollow people, I spent a great deal of time doing so. I love Facebook for the ability to connect (and often, reconnect) with people. But it’s enough of a time-suck without having to see obnoxious ramblings. I don’t mind if someone has a different opinion as me as long as we can converse respectfully. The last person I unfollowed posted a strong political view, designed to spark debate. When someone disagreed with him, he lambasted him, then said, basically “Since we don’t agree, don’t respond to this post.” That really bugged me.