How to Avoid Bad News on Social Media and Keep Your Sanity

by Carol Stephen June 16, 2016 Follow @Carol_Stephen

June 16, 2016

Those of you on social media know that being there too much can almost make you have ADHD. Here a squirrel, there a squirrel, everywhere a squirrel squirrel. Am I right? Oh, look! A squirrel! Seriously, though, how do you keep the omnipresent bad news at bay? Here are some ideas.

Use Lists

Vigorously maintain your lists in Twitter. Do not enter the mainstream every day, for that way madness lies. Clip unwanted accounts in your lists, like you would trim the unwanted branches of your beloved shrubberies. Chop out those on your lists with tweets you don’t like, and look for others you do like. You may want to take a deeper dive into using lists.

Photo by eflon

Hide Posts

Yes, you can hide posts in Facebook. You are not obligated to follow everyone’s sad, crazy story of how they were once beholden to the circus, forced to eat Spam, or nearly drowned that one time in Buenos Aires. Really. For some clues on when to do what, here’s a post about how to unfollow a friend without unfriending.

Photo by Loozrboy

Unfollow

Sometimes you need to unfollow people. If they always post bad news, if they badmouth others, if they sell sell sell! Those are good reasons to unfollow. You may have others. Also, if they haven’t posted since 1999, that’s a good reason, too. Why are you following them? And here is one of my favorite posts from friend Bridget Willard about your “safe place” on social media.

Get Outside

We all need a break from social media. Take a break every hour, two hours, or whenever you need it. Don’t follow someone else’s rules. Take a day or a weekend off. Heck, take a week off if you can! When you return, everything will look fresh.

Photo by mstearne

Post Less, Curate More

Maybe you could simply post less, but better stuff. Some accounts seem to post everything they find, rather than what’s perfect for their audience. If you curate, only the very best will get through your filter.