I am an unfollowing evangelist.
Sometimes my friends will complain about someone in their social media spheres – this person has bad political takes, this person posts way too much salesy bullshit about the pyramid scheme they’ve been suckered into, this person constantly argues with me about reproductive rights – and my response is always, “UNFOLLOW THEM.” “UNFRIEND THEM.” “DELETE THEM FROM YOUR UNIVERSE.”
There are sometimes valid reasons to not do this – like, for example, if the person in question is your gossipy aunt who would definitely notice and would definitely relay that information to your mom ASAP – but even in those cases, there are steps you can take. Facebook allows you to “snooze” particular people, so you can shush your Bernie-bro cousin until the election hullabaloo is over. When you mute someone you’re following on Twitter, their replies still show up in your notifications, so you’ll see the stuff that’s relevant to you and none of the other bullshit. Soft-blocking – the practice of blocking and then quickly unblocking someone on Twitter, which swiftly and silently removes you from each other’s “following” lists – is a godsend, and can often be played off as a technological glitch if anyone inquires about the “accidental” unfollowing.
I really, truly feel that life is too short to spend time around people you dislike, or who dislike you – and interacting regularly with someone on social media is a modern way of “spending time with” them. True, it’s ideologically nutritious (as my friend Brent would say) to habitually absorb opinions you don’t agree with, so as to expand your mind and sharpen your convictions – but people whose opinions differ from yours don’t have to be dicks about it. If they routinely are, why keep them around? Why let them take up space, rent-free, in your head, firing up your nervous system a few times a week with their jabs and jibes?