Facebook Tips and Tricks

Facebook is a lot of things: a wonderful way to keep in touch with friends and family scattered around the world, a glimpse into the lives of random acquaintances (whom we soon feel like we know really well), and for some, a way to overshare! However you’re using it, here are a few tips on how to address the most common Facebook “issues”.

Facebook Tips and Tricks

Issue: You’d love to congratulate your friend on their engagement/pregnancy/promotion, etc., but you really don’t want the 97 notifications that follow: “Linda Smith also commented on Sue Wilson’s photo.” “Steve Taylor likes your comment.”, etc. This could go on and on! Unless I’m actively engaged in a conversation, I really don’t want to be notified every time someone else writes, “Congratulations!” on a post.

There’s an easy fix! Once you’ve made your comment, select the small arrow from the top right corner of the post and simply turn off notifications.

Issue: Your new co-worker invites you to like their dad’s dental practice Facebook page six states away from where you live. You 1) are absolutely not a prospective client, 2) don’t want to offend your new colleague.

Luckily, you’re able to turn notifications off and on for pages too. Simply go to the page and choose whether or not to “Follow”.

An “un-followed” page. Posts won’t appear in your newsfeed.

A “followed” page. Posts will appear in your newsfeed.

Have a page you want to make sure you never miss a post for? Select “Get Notifications”.

Issue: Everyone has that friend that insists on sharing every inspirational quote, meme, quiz, recipe, and “If you have a daughter/son/cat you love, share this cheesy photo on Facebook otherwise, WHO WILL EVER KNOW??” And the worst part is that they usually do it all at once, filling your feed with a constant stream of junk. Unfriending isn’t an option because they’ll be the first to notice and wonder what’s wrong.

By far my favorite Facebook feature, the “Unfollow” option! Head to your friend’s page and click the checked “Following” button, or select one of their 42 posts in your feed and select the drop down arrow in the top right corner and “Unfollow”. They’ll never know you aren’t seeing their updates and you can still visit their page to see their posts. (Also keep this tip in mind during times of political elections or any socially divisive happenings in the world that people are hungry to share their opinions on!)

A “followed” friend

An “un-followed” friend

Issue: You just want to log on and scroll mindlessly through your feed, not make small talk with that random guy that sat behind you in 8th grade science class.

You’ve got the option to turn the chat feature entirely off (my personal preference), or you can adjust your settings so you won’t show up as “available” in other’s chat boxes. You can turn this off for just one person, or only make yourself available to a small group of friends. Start by selecting “options” gear symbol under your chat bar. Then choose “Advanced Settings”:

Select “Advanced Settings”

Choose your preference

Issue: You came across an interesting article or recipe you want to read but you don’t have time right now. Instead of sharing everything you want to read later (and annoying everyone who doesn’t want the “World’s Best Cheesecake” recipe), you’ve got the option to save it! Simply use the drop down arrow and select “Save Link”: