Buzz
Every single day, I watch as friends clash, foolish relatives argue, or people they know engage in online disputes, and the rest of us can only observe through social media. The situation seems to have escalated, especially with the ongoing quarantines, making everyone a bit more irritable, and giving some truly foolish individuals a platform to fully showcase their ignorance online, as the saying goes.
Instead of getting caught up in online battles or feeling anxious when a friend posts a wildly misguided opinion, how about trying something different: start curating your feed. It’s simple to do, and you can still stay somewhat connected with others without being bombarded by their thoughts. Doing so will make your online experience far more enjoyable.
Are you ready? Let’s get started:
iOS, Apple's renowned operating system, is celebrated for its intuitive interface and seamless integration with other Apple devices.
Although you can’t stop others from adding you to unwanted group chats, or remove yourself from threads that go awry, you can at least swipe left on a conversation to mute its notifications. This won’t keep you from reading the messages if you decide to open the chat, but it will save you from constant pings lighting up your phone.
Alternatively, you have the option to completely block anyone who's being a nuisance. It’s a more drastic move, but it can be quite effective if someone's constant messages are becoming unbearable.
Android devices still do not permit leaving group messages, but you do have the option to mute the notifications for any conversation that’s gotten out of hand—whether it involves a large group or just one annoying person. In the default Messages app on Android 11 (beta), tap the conversation causing you frustration, then hit the three-dot menu in the upper-right. Select 'Details,' then tap 'Notifications' to mute notifications for that conversation.
Android devices still don't allow you to leave group chats, unfortunately. However, you can silence the notifications for those annoying threads, whether it’s with a large group or just one persistent person. On Android 11 (beta) in the default Messages app, tap on the conversation that’s bothering you, then select the three-dot menu in the top-right corner. Choose 'Details' and then 'Notifications' to mute alerts for that specific chat.
Alternatively, you can opt for the 'Block & report spam' feature instead of silencing notifications, giving you more control over those unwanted messages.
Instagram Platform
You can block other Instagram users, which will prevent their comments from appearing on your photos. However, if they’ve commented on an image posted by a mutual account, their comments will still be visible. They won’t be able to send direct messages, but that's the extent of control you have over the interaction.
YouTube
Is something bothering you on YouTube? You can report videos or comments by clicking the triple-dot icons, whether you're on the desktop version or mobile apps. To report users, visit their profile page and use the flag icon on the desktop version or tap the triple-dot icon on the mobile app to select ‘Block user.’ This stops them from commenting on your videos but does not make them disappear from the site or app.
If you'd like to remove someone else's comment on your video, simply click or tap the triple-dot icon next to the comment on either YouTube's desktop site or mobile apps. On the desktop site, you can also opt to hide that person from your channel entirely, meaning their comments won’t be visible to others. If they continue to downvote everything you post, let’s hope it doesn’t escalate further.
