Facebook- you either love it or hate it! I have my moments when I can’t take my eyes off and moments when I just need to turn it off because I can’t stomach it. The truth is, as addicting as Facebook can be you can do many things to make your experience much more pleasurable. Facebook has many options that let you tailor the experience just for you. I’ll share a few of my favorites that have helped me lead a happier, healthier Facebook life.

Facebook User Tips

1. This isn’t a tool, but a reminder. Facebook is as real as you let it be. I have had more than one person complain to me that everyone seems to be living amazing lives and they feel as if they are just struggling to get by. My advice, as there is no button for this, is to stay off Facebook when you are feeling sad or vulnerable. Things aren’t always as they appear. I have watched more than a handful of “perfect” lives fall to pieces. People show you what they want you to see and that’s it. Think of it as a scripted reality show and you’ll be better off.

2. Get a grip on what you are allowing people to see. Facebook lets you customize every single post and photo. If you are sharing a town event, seeking donations, etc you’ll want to make that post public so that anyone can see it and share it with their friends. If it’s a special pic of your kids, a thought etc. set your post to friends. You get the picture. Just make sure you check your settings each time!

3. Just click your privacy setting and you can see how the rest of the world views your page. You can also view it as a specific person. Cool right? I blocked people from viewing my friends list because I wanted to protect my friends from being hacked and also to protect their privacy.

4. I have always been the queen of having hundreds of pages opened to all the articles etc that I wanted to read later. No need to keep open tags, just click on the little arrow my the link and hit Save Link! This has saved my sanity!!! You will also get an email every week telling you what you saved that week. I love this feature!

5. Your saved links are right here to your left! You can also save your favorite pages and groups so they are right there for you!

6. This one saved my sanity! Go back to that little arrow and you can also Unfollow a person or a page. You are still friends with them, they don’t know you Unfollowed them and you can check their page/profile anytime. This feature lets you keep things nice with people without letting them know that they are annoying the Hell out of you and you don’t want them in your feed! Or simply that maybe they post things that inappropriate and if your like me keep your computer open and don’t want your kids to sneak a peek!

7. This is more of a pet peeve, but also a tip. Before you hit that share button or give out your information and friends list in the hopes of winning one of these phony giveaways do your research. Disney, Barefoot Wines, Jeep, Regal, etc….. no one has “extra” stuff to giveaway. They do however love to Phish your information. Here is a great post on how to spot a fake from Disney Mamas: How to Spot a Disney Trip Giveaway Scam. You can follow that same advice for all the other “giveaways” on Facebook.

FAKE! They look a lot like this one. There are tons of blogs like mine that giveaway tickets, products etc and we are fighting for shares and likes while these fakes get thousands! Do your research!

8. Everyone has an opinion. It’s a good thing we aren’t all alike. My last piece of advice, move on. Online debates never end well. Let’s try to respect each others space and thoughts. If that doesn’t work follow my other advice and Unfollow.

What’s your favorite Facebook tip or peeve? Come on, I know you have one!