Concerned that I've Stopped Reading Your Facebook Posts? I Probably Have.
9/23 '16
That sounds a bit more dickish than I mean it, of course. Here's the thing though - I've realized that I'm spending way too much time on social media. Again.
So it's time for a revamp of how I interact with social media, and FB in particular since it's the worst offender. This may seem like self centered ranting, but I decided to post about this because I think many folks might benefit from using my 'process'.
My process for checking Facebook is pretty straight forward: 1. I look through / click on the notifications I've received since I last checked in. 2. Once I'm through those, I might read my wall/stream/wtf they're calling it these days.
But I noticed that there's only a handful of types of posts folks are making on Facebook, and they are:
- Political posts: Okay, I get it. You have strong feelings about one or both of the candidates. That actually makes me happy because it means you're invested. Most of the folks who read this post? I probably agree with your mindset. Those who I don't agree with? As much as I would like to think myself a 'bigger man', you're not likely to sway me with your vitriol towards my candidate. End result? I'm not reading political posts.
- Charity posts: There are a ton of really worthwhile charities out there who deserve our resources - be that time, money, or effort. Chances are pretty good that I'm already familiar with the charity you're doing your 'awareness' post on though. I can't easily put in time helping with the run/event that is coming up because I'm not going to be around for it. I genuinely wish I could, but.... And lastly, I already put what moneys I can into a handful of charities that I've picked out. End result? I'm not reading charity posts.
- Pet photos/videos: Look, I'm a sucker for cats and especially dogs. If you know me at all, you know this to be true. But holy hell are there a shit ton of pet videos on the intarwebs. If it's not the cat/dog/other of one of my friends? I just don't have the time/bandwidth to spend with it. Which kinda brings me to the close of this post:
tl;dr - I now look through those same notifications, and when I'm deciding whether or not to click, there's one simple question I ask: did the post originate with my friend? Yes? Click. No? Move along - nothing to see here.
(And maybe hang out with their parents for a bit too. ;) )
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