Feeling stressed? Is it possible that, like mine was, your Facebook timeline is filled with things that make you feel like crud? The truth is, while there may be things we’re interested in, or even passionate about, being faced with them constantly may not be the healthiest thing.
My Problem
I am interested in politics. I care about animals. I like staying in touch with my friends who live near and far, and even those who I am not actually close friends with but are acquainted with from high school, or from a work event three years ago.
Using animals as an example, it is not surprising that many of my friends are also animal lovers. Great, right? Yes! It’s wonderful that we all love animals and want every animal from our local shelter to find a new home, have funds raised to repair their broken leg from abuse, etc.
The problem? My timeline was filled with images of “last day before death row” dogs, mangled cats, starved horses, and other animals in need. Every time I saw one, I would feel a tug of despair in my heart.
Using another example (remembering that these are my personal preferences), I have a dear friend whom I love very much. However, it turns out that she and I are on the opposite ends of the spectrum politically, and she is very into being vegan. And she spends a LOT of time on Facebook. The result? Dozens of posts in my timeline that either make me aggravated or I am not interested in. (I am a meat eater, thank you very much, and aware of “the risks.” I don’t need 30 posts per day reminding me that if I existed on nothing but quinoa, I’d be thinner and healthier.)
So, I decided to clean up my timeline. Now, I’m NOT saying that I no longer care about animals. Or that I want to live with my head in the sand about politics, or even meat for that matter. What I am saying is that I don’t need to be drilled by it 700 times per day, in the form of images and posts in my news feed. This is supposed to be social media, remember? Where we stay in touch with friends, find interesting stuff, network our businesses, etc?
It took 10 minutes. Plus, the occasional 1.5 seconds here and there. Here’s how to do it:
Posts From Friends or Things They Have Shared
1. I went through my timeline and found all the posts friends had shared from animal shelters that are not local to me. The truth is, I can’t personally save them all, and I don’t need to wrench my guts out over every dog on the other side of the country that there’s nothing I can do about.
2. I chose “Hide all from Far Away Animal Shelter.”
3. Now, even when my friend shares it, it doesn’t show up in my feed.
4. As for the friend who I still want to stay friends with but don’t want to see the posts she shares? I chose “Unfollow” that friend. This allows me to stay friends with her (I can always visit her timeline if I want to see pics of her kids or wish her a happy birthday), but without her posts being in my timeline.
5. I very rarely use the option, “I Don’t Want to See This.” That would be only for topics or similar posts you never want to see at all, in any way, shape, or form.
Posts From Pages (usually businesses, organizations, or groups)
6. I also Unfollowed many Pages. Yes, I’m interested in politics, but do I really need to be reminded 1,000 times per day of all the problems in our country? No. I stay appraised of the news via other avenues. (NOTE: If there are Pages you’ve liked where you wonder why you never hear from them, you can also use this tip to Follow them and you’ll see them more in your timeline.)
7. If you really want to “pull your support,” you can also simply Unlike the Page altogether, although I almost never do.
My Results
The difference has been astronomical. My timeline is now mostly filled with things I’m interested in and actually want to see. My local animal shelter’s posts are still there, my friends’ posts that I’m interested in are still there, and I still know when my favorite author is coming out with a new book. I am now back to actually enjoying the social aspects of social media!
Oh, and (I can’t help myself), if you’d like to Follow me on Facebook, you can do so at LoriTheAuthor. Take an extra second to click “Follow” so you’ll actually see my posts!
How about you? Are you going to try it? Comment and let me know how it works out!
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