I actually enjoy social media. I know, I know. Itβs not trendy to admit that. But really. I do. Itβs a tool that I love to utilize. I seriously donβt know what Iβd do without it. If you donβt have the same feelings Iβm guessing itβs because you havenβt discovered how to use it as a tool. Iβm also guessing maybe all youβve really been doing with it is scrolling. If so, I think youβll appreciate learning why I unfriended 200 Facebook contacts.
My Facebook Experience Overall
I have definitely had some reaaaaaaalllly bad experiences on Facebook, but over all the benefits skyrocket above the bad experiences. I definitely would never have had my photography business which provided needed income for our family for years. Itβs not likely I would be homeschooling because I never would have found the home school curriculum that saved our homeschool (thank you Jesus). I wouldnβt have found Christian blogβs or found the womenβs conference and met the counselor-all of which helped encourage and lift me through some of my most difficult times.
There are long seasons/years that I would have been entirely alone if it were not for Facebook messaging since phone conversations donβt mix well with babies, a bunch of kids, and homeschooling. Donβt get me wrong, I love my extended family and friends, but Iβm not going to pull my oldest kids off their studies so they can babysit while I lock myself in a closet (so I can hear what the person is saying) and chit chat on the phone (while my kids run around and shred the house)!
I would never have met one of my best friends (whoβs friendship came along when I needed it the most) if it werenβt for social media. There are countless other friends I wouldnβt have been able to have any substance of a relationship with had it not been for social media.
Point is, so many people, things, ideaβs, projects that have made our lives richer-I never would have found if it werenβt for social media.
2 Wayβs Social Media Is Invaluable
Groups
Groups are amazing. They can be a major resource used to research, ask questions, and learn from others. I can get specific answers to everything from curriculumβs to marketing and even put something up for sale all in a matter of in seconds thanks to groups. When you have six kids itβs not uncommon for seconds to be all you have!
Finding the best places to do business
Many consumers including myself are even look up businessβs on Facebook to find where places are located, phone numbers and to keep up with the businessβs current events and sales-and to remember the business so that when when we are ready to purchase we know where to go.
Thousands of people look up business pages on Facebook to read the reviews and decide yay or nay on places to do business. One time Facebook helped me avoid what would have been an awful experience with our middle child. For months he had been saying he wanted to go mini golfing for his next birthday. A couple weeks before his birthday, I went to look up the hours of operation for the mini golf course on Facebook and was greeted on their page with so many horrible reviews!
Apparently the place had switched hands recently and didnβt allow children any longer, and according to the reviews and news report (I know-wow) was horribly rude about it! Our little boy would have been devastated to get there and find out they werenβt going to let him play! But thanks to social media I was able to derail that disappointment and help him find something else to do.
Business building
If you are a business owner and you are not utilizing Facebook, you are missing out! Remember-people look up their favorite businessβs and businessβs that are interesting to them so they can follow them. They may not purchase right away, but when they are ready to purchase they are going to buy from the first place that comes to mind which is usually the last place they saw (which will be your business if you are posting regularly).
Not convinced? Here are more reasons your business should be on Facebook;
11 Mind-Blowing Reasons Your Company Needs Facebook
Why Facebook Is Important for Your Small Business
Does βEveryoneβ Despise Social Media?
I have to suspect most the people who complain about social media actually enjoy being there too despite their griping-otherwise why would over half the US population be on Facebook 169.5 million to be exact, 55.2 million be on Twitter, 104.7 million be on Instagramβ¦and thatβs just to name three platforms.
Yet everyone βhates social mediaβ. Reeeeallly.
I propose that most the people who complain about social media simply donβt know how to utilize it. They get on it, but they donβt have a real reason to be on there-and they are using it incorrectly.
A Positive Social Media Experience
Iβve talked before about the dangers of scrolling. There are articles written on how getting on and scrolling can even trigger depression. Some time ago I created this video on how to have a healthy Facebook relationship. If you cannot view this video below you can see it on YouTube HERE.
Since I made this video things seemed to have changed slightly again. Also, I discovered some more ways to have a better social media experience. First-the backstory.
The Observation
Recently I noticed that for the last year my personal posts on Facebook were not gaining as much interaction as usual. Facebook had become boring for me. I had realized for quite some time that I was only seeing around 5 friends posts in my feed, the rest of what I was seeing was from inspirational and informational/educational pages Iβve liked and chose to βsee firstβ in my news feed for personal development.
Because of this, every couple months or so I would visit as many of my friends pages as I could and βLikeβ their recent photographs or posts to try to get them back into my feed. Unfortunately it didnβt seem to be making a difference.
In frustration, I decided to take a close look at my friends list one day. Suddenly everything started making sense. Over half of my list had either never interacted with me on FB or else seldom did. Many of them were contacts from jobs I had years ago. In a nutshell, they wereβt actual friends and werenβt reciprocating. So I made a decision.
Taking Action, Why I Unfriended 200 Facebook Contacts
Thatβs when and why I unfriended half my Facebook contacts. I went through and unfriended every contact that either had never interacted with me or else had not interacted with me in ages. In the end my Facebook page was over 200 people lighter!
The Results
Once I unfriended half my Facebook contacts the unexpected happened. Starting almost immediately after that, my news feed was suddenly filled with posts from friends again. Lotβs of friends.
I was a little worried that I may have unfriended some that actually did value a FB friendship with me, so I updated my picture and wrote the comment (above) in case anyone looked me up to hopefully assure no hurt feelings! So far, only ONE person friended me back so I guess I didnβt do to bad sifting through.
The Point of Social Media
Hereβs the thing. The whole point of being on social media is to be social, to INTERACT with others, keep in touch with friends. For some people the point for them is to keep from being forgotten as in the case of business owners, non profit organizations, charityβs, and ministryβs.
According to the article, 5 Reasons Why You Should Start Deleting Facebook Friends, having thousands of FB friends doesnβt do us any good at all. If your goal is reaching people either because you are business owner or have a ministry to encourage others it could even be hurting your cause.
Ever since I unfriended half my Facebook contacts Iβve been finding FB far more enjoyable. I will say that ever since I started this journey of becoming a professional blogger Iβve not had as much time to scroll my feed. When I do I cannot help but smile to see all the lovely real friends posts again though! And thatβs how social experiences should leave us! With a smile! If they are not then itβs time for something to change.
Did you enjoy reading Why I Unfriended 200 Facebook Contacts? Leave a comment below and tell the Singing A New Song Community your experiences and thoughts!
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I’ve done the same thing but with my IG. The amount of people that were inactive just clogging my feed was insane!
This is such a great reminder of how to be intentional with our social media!
I love this! Love social media for connecting with other bloggers, etc but for my personal life it is all about doing a “friend” purge once in a while.
I was just thinking I need to go through and clean house a little bit! I completely understand where you’re coming from!
I really appreciate the perspective of this post. Often times I think when we are involved in the blogging world that the more friends the better, but is that really true? Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t done any Facebook cleaning for a long time! Sometimes you see every added friends as an opportunity to connect and build your business with however the clutter can really be overwhelming and the contents that matter from your real friends and family are being drowned in that clutter. Thank you posting this and reminded me of it.
Yes to all of this! I cleaned up my friends list a few months ago and felt instant relief! It seems that social media is good for family/friends to brag about all the things in their life rather than to βstay in touchβ or interact with one another.
This is a really insightful post. Lol βeveryone hates social media….reeeealllyyyβ πππ
That’s amazing that you saw such positive results as a business owner! I’m thinking of doing this too….
That’s such a great idea and it’s so nice to finally see your friends too.
This is very interesting! I know what you mean about real connections and only seeing what you want to see on Facebook. I have several people on my page that are more so business connections, but I think itβs good for me! Only because Iβm very picky about who I accept as my FB friends. There are a bunch on unanswered requests I have in my inbox because I donβt know who the person even is! Haha
What a great exercise. I actually stopped posting on Facebook in 2019, aside from a couple of shout-outs to my family on special days. Now I only really use it for my blog business, and I feel so much lighter!
Yes! I love this π I do a friend purge on fb every now and then.. Probably time to do one again
I haven’t posted to my personal FB in ages. What they have been doing lately has really turned me off. I like it for the groups, but honestly they are bad too because they create echo chambers that reinforce your opinion to the sacrifice of other opinions.
I 1000 times agree with this! Its nice to know I’m not the only one who sees it this way.
I regularly cull through my FB contacts, too. I’m not on that platform often anymore – usually just a few minutes a day, or to keep tabs on events and groups related to my business. But I’m a big fan of letting go of things that don’t improve your life – which makes more space for the things (and people) who truly bring you joy.
I should do a little spring cleaning on my FB page. There are so many people on there that I haven’t spoken to in years.
I do this every 6 months. Just so done with artificial connections. And I certainly have found that even with a lesser number on friends list, I have good engagement since we all really care …
OMG yes. I constantly clean out my followers. For those people who do loop giveaways just to increase their numbers–they are so so dumb.
I definitely enjoyed your post. I recently noted a string of people trying to add me and I know it is to be nosey. A couple of them have unfriend me in the past, so Iβll ket their request sit there lol
Wow, this is great and I agree 100%. I did it a couple of months and now I will continue since I haven’t finished them all. Thanks for sharing.
Honestly speaking I don’t have so many friends on FB because I only add people I “really” know. Among them some are really active, some others aren’t. I unfriended some of my “friends” in the past but for different reasons π
I need to take a look at my list too! I have definitely had some bad experiences on social media, however the good has outweighed the bad by far for me personally. As a blogger, it has been super helpful and I have really enjoyed connecting with people I would have not met outside on FB.
This is a great idea and so interesting that your friends’ posts starting to pop back up again. Might have to do the same!
Kileen
cute & little
This is great! As they say it is about quality not quantity and that is exactly what this illustrates π
Such a great post! I agree 100%! I actually have been off my personal account completely since January and itβs been WONDERFUL. Unfortunately the people who crowd my feed with garbage, are family and unfriending them would probably cause more problems than itβs worth. So being off completely has worked really well! So glad you are having a more enjoyable FB experience now π
Also, I love your site and you are simply stunning π
That is the sweetest compliment, and a boost I needed today, Jaimi! Thank you! Your experience staying off your personal account is interesting…I’m going to have to consider that. I do feel pressured to maintain it. It would be nice not to feel that way!
I need too do some spring cleaning of my social media! I agree! The point of social media is to interact with each other. Great post!