I can’t even tell you how many Facebook groups I’m in. It seems like they multiply on a regular basis and sometimes it’s because I’m added to things by other people. I have definitely accumulated quite the collection of Facebook groups this year. It’s all too easy to hit “join” when I’m keeping myself awake during middle of the night nursing sessions and a group looks interesting. As result, I’m cleaning through my groups this month as a part of my 31 day challenge towards simple.
Yesterday, I shared questions that will help you declutter your house. Today, I thought I’d share some of the questions I use when I do a Facebook group clean out. I do these from time to time to keep my groups from getting insanely out of control. You’ll find all of the questions neatly organized in the graphic below, but I’m also going to go into a bit more depth about the questions and how to use each one to make decisions about the groups you keep and when to leave or unfollow a group.
Do you own the group?
If you own the group, then you’re in charge of the group and whether or not it exists. If it’s a group that you no longer use, you can choose to close it, archive it, or pass it on to a new leader. This process can also be applied to groups that you help moderate. If you no longer find value in the group or you’ve fallen off of your duties, it’s courteous to let the leader know so that they can find new help. For the most part, groups that you own should stay. (You can change the notifications settings though if you’re getting too many reminders about the group.)
Do you remember joining the group?
If you don’t remember joining a group, then I highly recommend just getting rid of the group. Chances are it hasn’t been bringing you any value and you won’t miss it in the end. After all, you weren’t even aware that it existed!
Do you actively participate in the group?
Active participation for the purpose of this post means commenting on posts. If you find that you’re often commenting on the posts of a group, then that’s a surefire sign that it should stay.
Do you passively participate in the group?
Passive participation for the purpose of this post means liking or reacting to posts. Maybe you don’t comment on the posts, but you do like or react to them often. For these groups, I ask myself why I choose passive over active. Then, I decide whether or not it’s a group that I’d like to keep around.
Do you lurk in the group without participating?
It’s perfectly okay to be part of a group without participating! As a group owner, I’d recommend at least passively participating because it let’s the owner know that you’re getting value from the material. However, there are groups where you read the posts but don’t always participate in them. Some of these groups are worth keeping around, but some should definitely go!
Do you get value from the group?
This is probably the most important question you can ask when you’re going through your Facebook groups! A group should bring you value of some sort – comic relief, interaction with others, information on a specific topic, etc. If your answer to this question is NO, then you should leave the group.
Does the group bring you joy? Does the group create stress?
An important part of social media for me is that it brings me joy. I don’t go to social media to deal with drama or stress. If a group (or individual) isn’t bringing joy into my life, then I remove them from my Facebook feed. Sometimes it’s with a simple unfollow, other times it’s a complete removal.
Does the group inspire you?
Some groups are great at bringing inspiration into our lives. Maybe it’s a group that gives you blog post ideas. Maybe it’s a crafty group that inspires you to make things. If a group brings you inspiration, I highly recommend keeping it in your feed.
Would you miss the group?
If you answer NO to this question, then that’s a pretty quick sign that you can get rid of the group. I know I have quite a few of these in my collection that I will be leaving. Sometimes groups are a temporary part of our Facebook life and that’s perfectly okay.
When you’re going through your groups, remember that you have several options for cleaning them up. First, you can change your notification settings if your notifications are out of control. Second, you can choose to unfollow a group. This means that you’ll still be a member of the group, but the posts won’t show up in your newsfeed. The last way is to completely unjoin a group, which can be super helpful in many cases. Each group may require a different clean up method depending on your interests and how you choose to spend your time on Facebook.
I’d love to hear about your Facebook group experiences! How many groups are you in? How often do you clean through them?
