I Don't Like Seeing You This Way

Having a social media presence of any size means you'll eventually see something in your newsfeed you don't want to see. These often include:

• Ads and sponsored content for things you couldn't care less about.
• Political posts that promote the wrong candidate, religious posts praising the wrong deity, etc.
• Controversial news of any kind, followed by opinions that are both incorrect and unsolicited.
• High maintenance, needy people whose problems are always someone else's fault.
• Vaguebooking (the practice of posting the fact that something is happening, and maybe even an opinion about how wonderful or awful it is, followed by a complete lack of any specific details that would give you any clue as to what's going on)
• Ultra-successful people whose magical lives allow any and every venture to work out stupendously for them, and who make you feel like a loser in the process. I assume they don't mean to do that, but it does indeed happen.

Exactly! How Do I See Less Of Those?

Let's take it one topic at a time.

How Do I See Fewer Ads?

If the ads are coming from the social media platform itself, you can't get rid of them. Those ads are what pay for your access to the social media site to begin with. You can, however, alter what kinds of ads you see.

Many ads include an X in one of the corners. Once you click on that X, you can state your reason for not wanting to see that specific ad, and it will be recorded. It's great for avoiding specific ads, but doing that for each and every single ad that comes your way can be taxing. 

Most platforms have a space where they tell you what they are doing to market content your way. You can find out and adjust your personal profile, which should effect a much larger share of the ads that you could potentially be exposed to. 

Sometimes it's not a corporation who is using sponsored ads that annoy you, but it's a friend or family member's ads instead–usually for an MLM. If they are convinced they can sell product, and nothing you say will stop them from trying, look at the next section.

I Want To Stay Friends. I Really Do.

I usually tell people to use the following method before deleting their friends and family members for a couple of reasons. First, it is possible to like someone and want to stay connected, while disliking their posts. Second, some of us want to keep the peace, and we know if we were to delete someone, we'd be creating drama that we'd have to deal with. If you fall in either of those categories, I suggest muting your friends.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all offer a feature where you can mute certain posts. On the upper right corner of all posts, there is a shape you can click. On Facebook and Instagram, it's three dots next to each other (...), and on Twitter, it's a V shape, pointing down. Click it, and it'll give you several options. Twitter and Instagram offer a "Mute" option, which means it still looks like you're both connected, and you can easily find that person's profile whenever you need it, but their content won't be in your newsfeed. Facebook, however, has an "Unfollow" option, which accomplishes the same task. They also have a "Snooze for 30 Days Option," in case you just need to take a short break from their posts. The good thing about this option is that it is very easy to reverse.

Actually: I've Decided That We Can't Be Friends.

Well, I'm sure you have your reasons. 

On Instagram and Twitter, you can simply unfollow the person. They won't get any sort of notification, and they may still be following your profile (or they may not be. Once again: you aren't notified when you lose followers). The only way for them to figure it out would be for them to look at their list of followers and notice that someone is missing.

To unfollow on Twitter, go to their profile and click the "Unfollow" button. To unfollow on Instagram and Facebook, click the "Following" button, and then click, "Unfollow."

Facebook is slightly different, because you can follow someone or be their friends (unlike the other sites, where you can only follow, and mutually following each other implies that you're both friends). To fully unfriend them, you need to go to their profile, click "friends," and then click, "unfriend." Like unfollowing, the other party will not be given a notification, and they'd only notice if they kept track of their list of friends. They could also notice if they went to your profile, but once again: they have to take the initiative to find out.

I Also Never Want To See That Person Again!

All three social media platforms offer you a way to block individuals from contacting you. The same menu that allowed you to unfollow or unfriend someone also allows you to block, or even report them. Blocking someone means making it so they cannot see your profile ever again. Reporting someone means they have done something to warrant the company's attention, and they may choose to ban that person from the platform altogether. Because of this, if you choose to either block or report someone, you usually have to give a reason behind your decision. 

Now, for those of you who continue to follow me: I'll continue to see you on the internet!