Making the Most of Facebook

I think we can all agree that Facebook is not what it used to be.

I used to get on Facebook, way back when, and see posts by family and friends – news, comments, photos, shares worth sharing….

Now, I mainly see memes. What are memes you might ask (if you don’t already know)? Memes are humorous quotes, photos, text, illustrations, etc., that get shared quickly by everyone on social media.

(Personally, I can do without the memes, although I am guilty of liking a few that are just too cute to pass up.)

In addition to memes, there are videos, sponsored ads, shared stories that may or may not be true – about every subject under the sun. When a person’s friends and family on Facebook are sharing anywhere from one to twenty or more memes, videos, or “stories,” well, the news feed can get a bit cluttered.

In my case, it makes me not want to get on Facebook at all.

So, how can we make Facebook a more enjoyable experience?

Well, what I do is hide every meme that is not doing me any favors. If I don’t like the meme, if it does not “talk” to me, if it is not funny to me, if it is not cute to me, if it does not serve a purpose for me…..I HIDE IT. Yes, that’s what I do.

To make this work, you have to do two things: be ruthless AND NOT fear what you are hiding. Trust me, if it does not hold any value to you, then there is no reason not to hide it.

Now, some days, I can do a lot of hiding, to the point that it can be down right annoying – because this, too, is time-consuming. To alleviate this in the long run and, hopefully, not to be clicking Hide Post for all of my allotted time on Facebook, I often hide the source…not my friend or family member, but the person it was shared from. This helps a lot.

Trust me on this, too. If you do not care for what someone is sharing, you more than likely will not like what they continue to share. Plus, you can always go back later and “like” the page; then, you won’t have to wait for your friend to share the content. It will show up in your newsfeed sooner.

The good news is my newsfeed is getting better. Just today I have seen more news from friends’ posts that are of value to me than I have in a long time and hardly any from memes or similar posts.

This makes me happy. Now, I can see more of my family and friends newsfeed and less of feed from people I do not know and never invited onto my newsfeed.

Think about that one. All those memes. That is all uninvited news feed. If you don’t want it, just hide it. No need to unfriend anyone or hide a friend. Just hide the post or hide the source.

Now for some questions and answers that might help you enjoy Facebook better:

Do I make my own posts or share content from other sources?

I do most of my posting and sharing on Instagram. But to not lose a presence on Facebook, I do share an Instagram post to my Facebook newsfeed from time to time. And I have most recently started making my own “memes” or quote cards, sharing my favorite quotes and scriptures.

I also use Stories to share photos that I have taken during the day, most especially those of sunrises, sunsets, and my writing and walking companion, Sammie.

What do I do about posts that ask you to share or type comments such as “Amen” or “I believe in Jesus” or participate in a long list of questions asking you to share what you like or memes that ask for a riddle solution?

This is tough. I usually handle these on a post-to-post basis for several reasons.

First, I don’t believe anyone should force or intimidate anyone else to declare their faith in God. I believe I have a strong faith in God, and I will choose how I share it with others.

In regard to the long lists of get-to-know-you questions, if I have time I join in; or, if I particularly like the questions, I will participate. Otherwise, I often choose to pass them up due to lack of adequate time.

As for the memes asking for a math or riddle solution, I often hide the source of these. For one, they are time-wasters. As an aside, I am amazed at how many wrong answers are provided by participants, making me wonder if they are taking time to process the question, really don’t know the answer, or are just throwing any answer out there to feel they have participated rather than pass it up (fear-based).

How do I handle all the sponsored ads in my news feed?

I used to try to hide these, but this has proved to be time-consuming due to the questions from Facebook to understand what type of sponsored ads I want in my feed. So, whether any of us like it or not, sponsored ads are just a part of our Facebook experience. If you take time to share your preferred newsfeed with Facebook, then your feed will provide ads more in line with your tastes.

Have you have noticed how when you search an item in your Google search bar that an ad for it now appears in your feed? Well, that is social media algorithms at work for you.

To save time, I just pass these on by. Sorry, Facebook, I will do my purchases through my usual method of shopping.

What other things do I do to keep my time on Social Media, not necessarily Facebook, to a minimum?

Because I spend a lot of time on other social media apps in addition to Facebook, I usually only scroll and interact with newsfeed until I see the last post I liked or commented on from earlier in the day or the day before. This has been very helpful since my time needs to be spent writing and marketing…and not just browsing feed all day (lol).

And that’s a wrap….

Overall, I believe Facebook can be whatever anyone wants it to be. If you love memes, keep them. If you don’t like memes, now you know what you can do to improve your newsfeed.

Making the most of Facebook might require a little effort in the beginning, but the rewards will be felt long after. Without needing to unfriend anyone, you can just manage your newsfeed better. Learning to hide unnecessary memes was a game-changer for me, and I know it can be for you, too.

By making the most of our time on Facebook, hiding unwanted feed AND only scrolling until we see a post we like or already commented on, we can enjoy Facebook (and any other app) much better.

Remember, social media should be working in our favor, not the other way around 😉

Thank you all for reading my social media related posts. If there is a topic you would like me to share, please let me know. I will be happy to check it out, learn what I can, and share my tips or experience.

My next social media post will be around October 24. I don’t have a topic yet, so you are more than welcome to offer me one.

Tune in next week for my writing blog update. See you soon!

Until then, take care and God bless. And keep on smiling!