With more than a billion active users, Facebook is, without a doubt, the world's biggest information echo chamber. And for every thought-provoking article you're lucky to see pop up on your timeline, you're guaranteed to see dozens of outdated memes, TMI shares you didn't need to see, and political rants that will leave you feeling offended.
Now, if you want to differentiate yourself from the soon-to-be-unfriended hordes, it's time to break these—and other—Facebook habits immediately. Read on, and watch your "likes" start to skyrocket. And when you do want something that's actually worthwhile to post about, book yourself a vacation at one of The 5 Best Exotic Getaways for 2018!
1 Adding People to Groups
Being able to automatically add people to groups is one of Facebook's most annoying features. Just because you love swapping recipes or sharing parenting tips doesn't mean your friends will, so don't add people to groups that will clog up their timeline with unwanted posts. And instead of adding people to groups hoping they'll become your BFFs, expand your social circle by discovering The Best Way to Make Friends.
2 Oversharing
Wanting to share some details of your personal life with friends is natural. Sharing every time you have a cold, just had sex, or are dealing with some inane personal drama is annoying. Oversharing is an easy way to lose friends fast, so think twice before you post.
3 Trying to Sell Products to Your Friends
The rise of multi-level marketing schemes preying on desperate people is depressing enough as it is. However, constantly bombarding your friends with requests to buy your skin care products and ugly leggings is almost worse. Everyone needs to make a living, but don't be surprised if your social media circle is conspicuously smaller after a few pushy sales pitches.
4 Posting Political Rants
While posting political grievances on social media seems like a decent way to spark thought-provoking discussion, it often turns into just another digital shouting match in minutes.
If you're going to get political on Facebook, try to make sure your opinions are well-researched and fact-based, and, whenever possible, add in a call-to-action. Insisting upon change without offering concrete ways to accomplish it probably won't do much to help your cause.
5 Hashtagging
Unless you're vying for the title of "most out-of-touch person on the internet," don't use hashtags on Facebook. Not only are people not following Facebook hashtags, they usually end up being more annoying than informative.
6 Detailing Your Kid's Every Move
We get it: your kid is the light of your life. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that everyone on Facebook wants to see what they had for breakfast. Worse yet, your kid might take objection to their every embarrassing moment being posted to the internet when they're old enough to realize what you've done.
Post selectively, or, better yet, create a private group for your kid that your friends can join if they feel so inclined. And when you want to up your parenting game, make the 20 Easy Ways to Be a (Much) Better Mother part of your repertoire.
7 Uploading Embarrassing Photos
A lot of people have carefully-curated social media presences, and all those awkward photos you're posting of them from middle school might just merit an unfriending. Don't add photos of anyone doing something they wouldn't want their boss or crush to see to Facebook, and definitely don't tag them in your throwback album.
8 Being Boring
While you could probably spend all day debating what classifies as newsworthy, it's not hard to tell when you're being outright boring. If your post includes descriptions of mild weather, being excited about the arrival of a package, how much money you saved on something, or the evils of gluten, it's boring and you should keep it to yourself.
9 Using Facebook When You Need a Doctor
Just because you can Skype your therapist doesn't mean that social media is always an effective medical tool. Asking for medical advice on Facebook, especially when there's a graphic photo of the condition in question involved, is icky, unnecessary, and won't actually lead to a diagnosis. When you do want to improve your health in a verifiably-effective way, start with the 100 Easy Ways to Be a (Much) Healthier Woman!
10 Posting Attention-Seeking Statuses
Whether you're posting a half-naked photo of yourself or vaguebooking about someone who "knows what they did," attention-seeking behavior on Facebook gets tired fast. Worse yet, if you're looking for a job, those immature posts might make you seem like a less-than-desirable candidate.
11 Constantly Declaring Your Love
Being in love is awesome; constantly posting about it on Facebook is not. If you feel the need to regularly profess your love for your significant other online, it comes across as not only attention-seeking, but disingenuous. Instead of using Facebook as therapy, jumpstart your relationship in real time with the 50 Best Marriage Tips of All Time!
12 Posting Fake News
There's a lot of misinformation on the internet, and Facebook is one of the biggest contributors to the cycle of fake news. Before you repeat a story told to you by your neighbor's girlfriend's grandmother or share a dubious post, verify it or risk annoying everyone who follows you.
13 Posting About Adulting
If you're a legal adult, odds are you occasionally work, pay bills, do laundry, or make your own food. While adult life can be stressful, patting yourself on the back for paying your utility bills on time at age 30 isn't newsworthy, but does make you seem a little immature and a lot sad. When you do need to blow off some steam from all those adult stresses, start with the 10 Best Non-Exercise Stress Busters!
14 Asking People to Share Posts
Why on earth do your friends have to share a post about how they met you to prove they're decent people? Guilt-tripping people with "share if you care" posts is annoying and manipulative. If the only way someone can prove their friendship to you is by sharing digital chain letters, it might be time to reevaluate your life.
15 Showing Off Your Faux-Spiritual Side
Faith can be a powerful force in peoples' lives. However, posting judgmental advice about other peoples' lifestyles or dubious quotes from spiritual leaders to show off how amazingly evolved you are, is irritating and self-congratulatory. Don't judge, fact-check, and make sure that what you're posting doesn't come across as holier-than-thou if you want to keep your friends and followers. If you do want to share some quotable inspiration, check out these 100 Life-Changing Quotes to Inspire Your Days!
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Sarah Crow Sarah Crow is a senior editor at Eat This, Not That!, where she focuses on celebrity news and health coverage. Read moreFiled UnderTech and GadgetsRead This Next20 Social Media Mistakes You Need To Stop Making
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