I have a small face book account of a little over 100 friends. When I opened my face book account I thought it was an excellent place to keep up with relatives.
When you're on face book other people find you. So now I not only have family but former students, colleagues and other people I know.
I found that the family contact more or less dried up. Many other people are lurkers. I don't know if they follow me at all.
I do use face book to publicize my blog. I do click on things I like. For example a former student was our city archivist and he posts all kinds of photos. I have another friend who is a photographer. David takes many good photos and I tell him I like them. I wish people happy birthday, but I rarely post anything.
All of this is very harmless.
However, there are a couple of friends who find themselves deep into right wing politics so there are times I get many despicable messages. They get these messages from some site and then pass them on over their face book page. They haven't checked these messages for any validity at all. I don't like getting racist messages. I don't like messages that criticize politicians in a personal way. Debate the issues but leave the mudslinging out of it. It's difficult enough for a politician to serve as well as get abuse. I get messages on the economy that have no basis whatsoever. Whoever wrote the message did not do any research whatsoever. They listened to somebody spout off. They will not look at government statistics as they have the mistaken idea that these statistics come directly from the political party. These statistics are generated by the people who do the actual work of running the country.
For two of my friends , I think I'm going to have to find out how to unfriend somebody.
What do you do when you get unwanted face book messages?
Hi Red, I have unfriendly a few people. I just have Facebook for family and a few friends...all mostly non radical! Aloha!
ReplyDeleteWell, I had no idea these two were radicals but I guess things change.
DeleteI am like you in that I primarily use Facebook to keep up with family that I rarely get to see since they live far away. I do know that you can be friends with someone on FB but not "follow" them. If you are getting a lot from certain people and you don't like what you see then go to their FB page and look under their photo and name and see if it says "follow" or "following". If it says "following" then click on that and you may stop getting so much from them but you will still be friends with them. I have done this with some people that post more than I want to see. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll look at this. I think I have it through my head.
DeleteIf I think it would be a bad move to unfriend somebody I hide their stuff and remain friends. They never know I can't stand their posts.
ReplyDeleteIn the past I would unfriend them but I've had some awkward conversations when people asked why.
Facebook can be wonderful but it can also raise my ire in a most unhealthy way
Yes, I'd like to hide their stuff.
DeleteI get those messages from one or two friends in my feed too Red. I don't like them but I just pass them by. Otherwise I'd probably be unhappy camper every time I log in there. Happy New Year to you. May 2019 be a fabulous year for you and the micromanager.
ReplyDeleteI know I don't have to look at them but it's the principle of the thing.
Delete...no Red, Facebook is the nuisance!
ReplyDeleteIt takes two to tango.
DeleteI do the same thing, unfriend them. All this horrid, loathsome hate and lies has to stop. It wreaks havoc with my depression! I try to point out the actual statistics, a link to a fact, or even a pithy graph. It worked with one US-based woman. She's stopped posting alt-right weird stuff. One immigrant, charged with murder, that proves all immigrants are bad. It's often lose-lose, though. The emails are the worst, though.
ReplyDeleteWe have to be careful where we go or we can pick up weird friends.
DeleteI have been unfriended by a young man because I was too liberal and did post critical comments about our current administration. I did not care. I am thinking of now unfriending those who never send me any messages as the only reason I am on FB is to connect. People do not know you unfriended them...but when they can no longer see you on FB, they figure it out.
ReplyDeleteThere's a difference in telling people in a rational way what we think and listening to some nasty things about others.
DeleteIt's easy to unfriend somebody. I'd have to get on Facebook to remember, but once I got rid of all those who sent me those kinds of messages, I don't get them any more and am not bothered by nasty right wing posts. It works well. There is also a button next to posts you don't want to see and if you click it (I think it's on the top right) and it gives you the option of not seeing similar posts. Let me know if you need more help.
ReplyDeleteThe technical part of clicking on something is easy. One has to think about throwing the baby out with the bath water.
DeleteI did have to do the same thing. It is easy to do. Life is too short to have negativity and arguments coming into your house via social media.
ReplyDeleteYes some of the stuff out there is just gross. It's far from and issue.
DeleteI am very fortunate in only having moderate friends who, if they do have extreme views, keep them to themselves. If they didn't I would immediately unfriend them.
ReplyDeleteYes, some of these people don't seem to have the sense of who they should contact with this crap.
DeleteI "unfollow" people whose posts I no longer want to read. And, like you, it's mostly political right-wingy rants. I prefer when friends post personal stories and photos.
ReplyDeleteRants wouldn't be bad but they pick up trash from a site and send it out.
DeleteYou have more friends on Facebook than I do. And even that is too much for me! HAHA
ReplyDeleteOh, I know those messages very well. They are such ridiculous posts and the people who share them are clueless about what's really going on. They just share stupid stuff.
If you don't want to unfriend, just unfollow. If you want this person out of your life then unfriend. Sometimes we have to get rid of toxicity and negativity. Life is too short for that.
It seems like most of you have had experience with these bozos.
DeleteYou can unfriend, unfollow, or block certain sources. Start with the little menu dots in the upper right hand corner of a post for some options. To unfriend, you'll have to go deeper.
ReplyDeleteI'm ready to fallow your suggestion.
DeleteYou can mute and unfollow people without blocking them or anything like that, it just means you see much less of their posts unless you actively seek them out. I know among my contacts are a couple of people who are virulently pro-Trump, but I ignore them.
ReplyDeleteOne way or other I'm not going to watch what these bozos pass on.
DeleteI unfriend people who send unwanted radical hate filled messages. No need for that stuff in my life. I haven't been on facebook for over a year now. I needed a break and now that I've been off, I don't know if I'd go back.
ReplyDeleteRacist, radical hate...all stuff I can do without.
DeleteI tried Facebook for a while and did not like it.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind face book as I can skip things and no worry.
DeleteI only have five friends on FB and they are all reasonable people. I don't add anyone new. It seems like you've gotten some good advice here. There's a good side and a bad side to all this social media, I guess. The trick is to maximize the good and minimize the bad.
ReplyDeleteBut how else would you know that Hillary Clinton is really from outer space and Donald Trump is secretly a member of the Nazi party? And you'd never be able to fully appreciate just how successful your friend's daughter is, and you'd never get to see that 747th photo of your cousin's grandchild? Seriously, though, as others have suggested you can "hide" people instead of unfriending them, and then you don't seem so churlish.
ReplyDeleteI do nothing, Red, as I do not have a Facebook account and see no good reason why I would want one. I enjoy blogging and while it can be difficult to keep up with reading posts, I try to spend at least one day a week catching up on what everyone's been doing.
ReplyDelete