Facebook Can Get F##ked
Using Restricted Setting to Block Content
So I don’t know about you, but I have a large extended family scattered throughout Australia and the world.
Most of my family I have never met in all of my 53 years but we have connected through Facebook.
Unfortunately, what this also means is that I am exposed on my Facebook feed with all the diametrically opposing viewpoints and memes shared by many. I also over the years have collected many people whom I occasionally engage with on social media from old places of employment or with whom I met in the community.
I do NOT want climate denialist memes and comments popping up on my Facebook newsfeed, or conservative political views opposing equality for gays, posts justifying building new coal powered energy plants, or quotes taken from white supremacist assh@les spreading their hate and filth, memes making fun of women’s equality, racist rants, religious discrimination and any other memes justifying bigotry or any other such thing!
I do not believe Facebook is the PLACE to have reasonable, rational discussions about any of these topics. It is entirely the wrong way to go about trying to change people’s minds to your way of thinking if that is what you are trying to do by sharing a post, meme or quick rant. All it does is engage people who agree with you already or disengage those who do not.
Facebook is a cesspool of poor examples of human decency and behavior in communicating with each other as can be seen by reading the ‘comment’ section on most public posts or forums.
So, I discovered the RESTRICTED setting just over a year ago.
Things came to a head, as I got so uptight with all the stuff I saw on my Facebook feed that I considered pure bigotry and hatred when Australia had the Same-Sex Australian Postal Survey into marriage equality in Australia.
Our then 19-year-old son had just come out as gay.
Our letterbox was full of pamphlets opposing gay marriage and gays, and we were doing our best to throw them in the garbage and protect him within our own home from being exposed to hatred and rejection.
Over 61 percent of Australians voted YES agreeing that gay marriage should be legalized in Australia. This referendum was highly criticized in Australia as all previous polls had shown Australians overwhelmingly in support of equality. However, a conservative government at a time of economic uncertainty chose to spend over $122 MILLION dollars conducting the survey.
Gay marriage has since been legalized in Australia.
Everyone is fine. Nobody’s lifestyle has deteriorated or been affected by two people they will likely never meet now having the legal right to marry.
Funny that.
Anyway, I was sick to death of trying to relax at the end of the day with my cup of tea in bed and checking social media and finding another ‘anti’ post pop on my newsfeed.
Now I do not have to read anything from anyone that annoys, irritates or saddens me due to their negativity or opposed political, environmental, religious or social viewpoints.
Sitting in bed responding to a meme is not my idea of having a calm reasonable and rational discussion on such matters.
I am not even interested in having conversations with those I know are set in their views. But I do not want to see their views in my face in my own home when I am relaxing and not in the mood for a debate.
When you place someone in a restricted mode on Facebook it means you no longer see anything they post and they no longer see anything you post.
If you want to see what they are posting, you head over to their facebook page and have a look. They can do the same with you.
The person does NOT know you have restricted them. They are completely unaware.
How To Restrict Someone on Facebook
- Go to the person’s profile page on Facebook.
- On the Friend link, contained in a light blue circle, with a dark blue profile of a head, click on it.
- A drop-down box of options will appear, and you need to scroll down and click on Edit Friends List.
- Scroll down the options and click on Restricted. A blue tick will appear.
ALL DONE.
The person has now been restricted on your Facebook page, which means all content they post you will no longer see unless you go to their page and look.
EASY as that.
For myself, I ended up unfriending two people from Facebook at this time due to the nature of their views being so caustic and also restricting when I choose to see them in person.
But the restricted setting has helped me regulate and manage my social media on Facebook so I do not have to go through the drama of deleting old work colleagues, acquaintances and extended family from my account that may cause issues down the track.
I may be the LAST PERSON on earth to know about this, and I may only be talking to the tech-savvy, but if like me, you find this is a godsend, I am happy.
It has simplified my life and made it less stressful and more peaceful. I hope it does for you also.
