Monday, August 27, 2012

Blocking vs Unfriending Users on Facebook



Why would you Unfriend someone, when it's far more effective to Block them? If someone is stalking, offending, or annoying you on Facebook, you had better BLOCK them and NOT Unfriend them.

I posted on Facebook how I blocked 3 Facebook users last night. Someone then asked me if I unfriended them, or is there something more involved with blocking them.

Blocking someone makes it seem, to them, that you have vanished. It seems like you are no longer on Facebook. As far as they're concerned, you no longer exist as a Facebook user. They are no longer in your Facebook experience and you are no longer in theirs. I like that a lot.

I don't know why anyone would simply unfriend somebody.

That does not go far enough, in my opinion. If someone is posting offensive, irrelevant, or insane things that appear in your News Feed, and you're tired of having to see it all the time, I suggest you BLOCK them.

If you just unfriend them, they can still stalk you, see what you're posting, and contact you, perhaps to bother you with questions as to why you unfriended them. Since they can still read your posts, and view your activities, they can gossip about you, quote you, and know where you're going and what you're doing. That could be a serious problem, especially if you're a woman.

Unfriending someone is like divorcing a spouse, but still hanging around with them as pals. It doesn't make sense. If you need to get away from someone who's abusive, annoying, or even dangerous, you should do it abruptly, completely, and permanently. Half way measures potentially just prolong and complicate the process.

I never simply unfriend anybody, I always block them. I don't block people who disagree with me, or who have views contrary to my own. I only block people who pollute my News Feed, and thereby invade my consciousness, with posts that I can no longer tolerate based on my sense of civility, sanity, or decency.

For example, someone last night posted some sexually explicit images, then said she was tired of people telling her to stop sending them FB game invites, "so I'm going to start spamming the f*** out of all my Facebook friends with game invites".

In short, a nasty person with issues that I no longer care to know about.

This same person was posting a lot of posts with filthy language and I finally decided I'd had enough. There was no value or relevance in their posts. Just rants about what they disliked, sexually explicit images, and seemingly drunk statements.




Proclaiming how you intend to harass people and spam them is also a violation of Facebook terms of service and can get you kicked off Facebook.

According to Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, under Safety, items 6 and 7 state:

6. You will not bully, intimidate, or harass any user.
7. You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.


You know, there are sociopaths, perverts, criminals, and psychos on Facebook. If you wouldn't invite them into your home, why let them spread their garbage in your News Feed?

You don't need to command them to stop. You don't need to explain why you don't like their attitude. You don't need to clarify to them your own morality and standards. You don't need to try to shame them. You don't need to demand that they explain why they post what they post. Just block them.

When you UNFRIEND someone on Facebook this is what happens:

1. That person does not appear on your Facebook friends list.
2. You can still find each other on Facebook search.
3. You can still message each other.
4. You can read the other person's wall.
5. You can still re-add each other as friends.


Blocking makes you disappear from Facebook, as far as they are concerned. They can't find you and can't contact you.


When you BLOCK someone on Facebook this is what happens:


1. They cannot find you at all on Facebook.
2. Both of you do not appear in each other's search results.
3. It is like you do not exist on Facebook at all.
4. They cannot contact you anymore as there is no way to find you.
5. NOTE: You might still appear on third-party apps like Facebook games. If both of you are playing the same games.


HOW to BLOCK a Facebook user:


Click on the name of the person you want to block. When you're at their Facebook profile, to the right, directly across from their name, you'll see Friends | Message and a gear icon (representing Tools) with a down arrow drop down menu. When you over over Friends, you'll see options to add them to lists and other actions, then Unfriend is at the bottom of the menu.


But to BLOCK someone, you have to go to the gear tool icon, and click the down arrow to activate the drop down menu. You'll see the last two menu options are Unfriend and Report/Block. When you click on Report/Block, you'll see another menu that shows Unsubscribe | Unfriend | Block and Report This Timeline.


Click on Block. If you feel you need to also Report this Facebook user, click on Report This Timeline and you'll see a checklist of options to report.


READ MORE


Facebook Help Center "Blocking People"

Facebook Help Center "Report Abuse or Policy Violations"




23 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a lot. All I did was a stupid mistake. I clicked on the add friends button by a mistake. Didn't know the person was on Facebook and he sent me a message that said hey. I didn't say nothing back. I just unfriend him. So far things are going good. Haven't heard nothing back. I guess he realized it was a mistake too.

Anonymous said...

Well Sir I have this question. If i get blocked form lot of people. Will my facebook id be delete? Its not like was harassing them. Nothing like it. They were my old school friends who are now different in cities and jobs they having hard time recognizing me. I have just Eid throught face book message along with friend request, but unfortunately they decided to block me. I got no issues with that. Its their life. Wat Im really concerned about if get too many blocks form old school pals will face book account be deactivated?

Anonymous said...

If you have a mutual friend, the person can find you on facebook even if you've blocked them. Just an FYI

Stefan de Jong said...

Thanks for this post, it was enlightening but I do have one extra option for you to consider in your blog:

The option to no longer follow someone :)

This option allows you to still remain friends but no longer see his/her postings.

I've used this option last night because I felt I didn't want to block the person because of possible future business interests but I didn't want to read his posts as they were all in a language I don't understand and Google Translate has problems with translating.

So this way we're still friends and we are able to look each other up but I won't be flooded by messages I cannot ever understand.

Hope this comment is useful to anyone :)

p.s. not sure if my post was placed so I'm doing it twice, sorry for double post if that happens :)

Ajanogha said...

Can my blocked facebook friend still have access to our old chats?

Anonymous said...

Yes, blocking is easy but she still post hate speech. So its not effective

Anonymous said...

While I found your post very informative and helpful, there is one thing that needs correction. When you block someone it also automatically un-friends them as well - you have no choice regarding that. Thanks for the post!

Anonymous said...

I dont know if she blocked me, i cant see her wall and send messages, but if i search her name , its still there..

Anonymous said...

I dont know if she blocked me, i cant see her wall and send messages, but if i search her name , its still there..

dreambient1 said...

thanks for reminding me of the following:
Unfriending someone is like divorcing a spouse, but still hanging around with them as pals. It doesn't make sense. If you need to get away from someone who's abusive, annoying, or even dangerous, you should do it abruptly, completely, and permanently. Half way measures potentially just prolong and complicate the process.

i need to apply this concept in life as well as on facebook. you have know idea how helpful these words were to me. thanks

Anonymous said...

I can't block someone who has me blocked, and I've waited the 48 hour.

Anonymous said...

My friend already blocked a facebook user, who used to be his friend. However, when I view the post of that facebook user, the name of my friend still appeared as one of those who liked the post. My friend liked the post before he blocked him. Tagging was removed but not the "like" aspect.

Spiritfriend said...

Because blocking is a harsh last resort and unfriending just means you're no longer Facebook friends. To block someone is the equivalent of a restraining order...pretty serious stuff. I may not want to be friends with someone but that doesn't mean I want them out of my life. Blocking is like saying, "get out and stay out and don't come back." That's really harsh.

Asking questions said...

Thank you for your advice. I have one clarifying question. If the blocked person and I have a mutual friend and we both comment on that friends post. Will we both be able to view each other's comment on that mutual friends post?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. I was blocked by a lady who decided she didn't like me after I was faster than her in a running race. (Keep in mind we are both 40 yr old adults, not 13 yr olds.) I wondered how I appeared on the blocked end. I've only ever blocked one person, and that was because he started to send explicit unwanted sexual messages....but apparently some people use the block more liberally....

Anonymous said...

I disagree with your post. You can unfollow profiles...that means you will never see anything they post.

And if the message you, then you can tell them how you feel.

We are all humans and everyone needs to be treated with respect. Blocking is the easy way and you hurt people. But if you don't mind hurting people, then blocking is the thing to do.

Anonymous said...

Question: if someone blocks you could you still see if they are friends with your mutual friend?? Do pictures disappear if they're tagged in them. Could you still see their pics on a mutual friend???

Unknown said...

No they can't, I tried! Blocked is gone!

Unknown said...

If I have already unfriended someone, can I go back and block them without re-friending them first? Sorry if this posts twice, I don't see my first attempt and I really want an answer!

Anonymous said...

If you block someone will all likes you gave them disappear too?

Anonymous said...

So what happens to photos or tags of you on someone's wall postings if they unfriend you or if they block you . . . are you still there in photos and tags?

Anonymous said...

The only time I ever "unfriend" someone on FB is when they change their profile pic to something I don't like or find offensive. And even then, only those who are visible on my home page. Always after I ask them politely to please change their profile pic and explaining my reason for my request. I am a very visual person and seeing loathe some or annoying images on my FB homepage bothers me. Otherwise, I just set them as "Aquaintance". Also, all of my FB friends are "Reatricted" so the only posts anyone gets to see are those I specifically assign as "Public." Most of the stuff I post on my wall is just really for me anyway (sort of like my "diary" in a way).

Anonymous said...

What if your both in the same facebook group. Will you still see each other's posts?
Will my comments disappear from their post?