I love interacting with my social networking community. I absolutely hate hiding, unfriending, or unfollowing people. I probably should do it more, but I rarely do. If we're connected, I actually care what you think and experience. But we can all do things from time to time that are annoying and those who care about us most will take the time to let us know. With love, and in a spirit of restoration not condemnation. Right? So this is an attempt at that.
First, a helpful comparison. Think social networks as a metaphorical coffee shop that we all visit from time to time. Some of us come every day, some only once in a while. But every time we show up, we run into people we know. So we're generally on our best behavior, at least we should be. Most of the time, we're there on our way to something else, we don't plan to hang out. So try not to monopolize anyone's time. Take a minute to say hi, share a meaningful highlight about your life and be sure to ask about the other person too, then move on. If something I say bothers you, tell me, but don't stand up on a table yelling for 10 minutes. I might still be your friend, but I'm probably going to suggest you get down or just walk away and hope you come to your senses. And yes, I'd love to see a recent photo of your child or your pet, but not a seemingly endless collection limited only by the memory in your smart phone. Finally, if you are passionate about politics or your faith, great. I can be too, so by all means let's discuss it. BUT, please give others views the same respect. By the way, this also means you should take a breath and ask what others think too. Accept that honest people can disagree and remain friends — that's good. And if possible, let's see if we can find some common ground — our society needs more of that. There may not always be much, and differences matter too, but if we can find a little agreement it's easier to work through the differences peacefully.
- So, with that metaphor in mind, here are the top 10 ways to get hidden from my social news feeds.
- Post continually one-sided political statements that polarize and antagonize your friends rather than engage them or seek common ground
- Post statements that defame the faith of other people. That's just mean and doesn't advance anything, in fact it reduces people's respect of your opinion.
- Fail to fact-check unbelievable claims... that almost always prove to be misleading. It's irresponsible and spreads lies.
- Post passive-aggressive comments about unnamed people we both know. That's usually going to backfire, not to mention it's gossip and rude.
- Over share (e.g., post a whole bunch of things in quick succession.) Pace yourself! This is a conversation, not a monologue :)
- Only be negative
- Post a seemingly endless stream of photos of your children or your pet
- Post only things that other people say or create. Your friends want to see what YOU think, do and create. Participant in the world rather than simply observe and judge it.
- Share aspects of your personal life that are better kept to yourself. Remember, a lot of people see this stuff and it will be visible for a VERY long time.
- Post things you don't really believe just to get a response without making it clear that's your intention
See you online :)
