Taking a break from Facebook friends refers to temporarily restricting certain friends from seeing your Facebook posts or limiting your own ability to view their content. This can be done for a variety of reasons, such as needing some space from certain people, avoiding spoilers about a TV show or movie you haven’t seen yet, or just generally wanting to spend less time on Facebook for a while.
Why Would You Want To Take A Break From Facebook Friends?
There are a few common reasons why someone might want to take a break from their Facebook friends:
1. Too much drama or negativity
If you find some of your Facebook friends are constantly posting negative, dramatic, or stressful updates, it can bring you down or feel emotionally draining to see that content all the time. Taking a temporary break from their posts can be a self-care measure to improve your own well-being.
2. Avoid spoilers
If you haven’t caught up on the latest episode of your favorite show or watched a new movie that just came out, a Facebook break can help you avoid annoying spoilers that friends might post. You can take a short break from friends who tend to post a lot of entertainment content until you’re caught up.
3. Spend less time on Facebook
Some people feel they spend too much time mindlessly scrolling through Facebook on a regular basis. But because they still want to stay in touch with friends, they are reluctant to deactivate their account entirely. A Facebook break allows you to step away temporarily without losing touch.
4. Break from an ex
After a breakup, seeing an ex’s posts and photos can make it harder to move on. Taking a break from your ex specifically can help give you some space to heal.
5. Political overload
During big election cycles or times of political turmoil, política debates can rage on social media. If it starts to feel like too much, giving yourself a break from the most vocal friends on politics can help.
6. Reset after an argument
If you’ve gotten into a heated disagreement or major conflict with a Facebook friend, taking a short break from each other can help cool tensions and prevent the argument from escalating further.
How To Take A Break From Facebook Friends
There are a couple different ways to take a break from your Facebook friends:
Unfollow
The easiest option is to simply unfollow certain friends for a while. Their posts will no longer show up in your News Feed, but you remain Facebook friends. To unfollow someone:
- Go to their Facebook profile
- Hover over the Following button and click Unfollow
- You can also access the Unfollow option in the row of buttons that appears at the top of your News Feed on desktop
Unfollowing is completely private, so the person will not know you’ve done it. Your name will still show up on their friends list.
Use the Snooze Feature
Facebook’s Snooze feature lets you temporarily snooze someone’s posts for 1 day, 7 days, 30 days or until you unsnooze them. Just like Unfollow, it’s private. To snooze a friend:
- Go to their profile or hover over any of their posts in your feed
- Click the 3 dots at the top right
- Select Snooze for desired time period
Snooze can give you a short term break from a friend without fully unfollowing them.
Restrict List
You can also add specific friends to your Restricted list:
- Go to your Settings
- Select Privacy
- Go to Restricted List
- Type in name of friend to restrict and click Add
This prevents them from seeing any of your posts. However, it’s not private. They will know they’ve been restricted if they try to view your profile.
Take a Self-Imposed Break
For a full social media cleanse, you can also take a self-imposed break where you voluntarily avoid logging into Facebook at all for a set period of time. Tell your close friends you’ll be off Facebook for a bit so they know you’re not ignoring them. Then try to go a week or a month without checking it at all.
How Long Should You Take A Break For?
There’s no ideal length for a Facebook break. It depends on your specific circumstances:
- A few days: Enough to avoid spoilers about something or quickly get over a specific annoyance.
- One to two weeks: If you need a short mental health break from social media.
- One month: A good reset period if you want to kick a Facebook addiction.
- Three to six months: Allows you to completely detach from exes or super toxic friends.
Choose a timeframe long enough to achieve your purpose, but not so long you completely lose touch with people. Check in with yourself periodically to see if you’re ready to resume normal Facebook use.
What Happens When You End The Break?
Here’s what to expect when your self-imposed Facebook break concludes:
- People, groups, and pages you unfollowed will automatically resume appearing in your feed unless you re-unfollow them.
- Snoozed friends will become unsnoozed.
- You’ll have to manually go remove anyone you put on your Restricted list.
- Some friends may have unfriended you if they were offended you restricted them.
- You may see some new friend requests from people you’re no longer mutual friends with.
- Expect lots of notifications as Facebook has been accumulating them while you were away!
Ease yourself back into Facebook instead of diving back into hours of scrolling. And consider muting friends who are overly negative or whose posts no longer align with your interests.
Pros of Taking a Facebook Break
Taking a break from Facebook friends has some great benefits, including:
More free time
You’ll gain extra hours in your day not spent endlessly browsing Facebook. Use this time to pick up a new hobby, be out in nature, read, or spend time with real friends and family.
Less stress and anxiety
Getting away from negative or hostile Facebook friends lowers your daily stress and anxiety levels. Your mental health will thank you!
Increased productivity
Without Facebook sucking you into the vortex for half the day, you’re bound to be more productive at work, school, or business. Get things done!
Digital detox
Our brains need a break from the constant stimulation of social media. A hiatus lets your brain reset.
Perspectives change
When you resume normal Facebook use, you may find your perspectives on certain friendships or political issues have shifted after the time away. Distance can bring clarity.
Focus on real world
Life is taking place out in the real world, not just online. Take time to nurture your in-person friendships, enjoy hobbies, and generally live life off your screen.
Cons of Taking a Facebook Break
However, there are also a few potential downsides to be aware of:
Feeling left out
You may worry you’re missing out on news, events, conversations, or funny memes while you’re away from Facebook. FOMO (fear of missing out) can kick in.
Less Facebook activity
Your account views, likes, and algorithmic reach will decrease when you’re inactive on Facebook for a while. But don’t let likes dictate your life!
Relationship misunderstandings
Some friends may feel hurt if they see you restricted them, especially if it’s not communicated first. Reassure close friends it’s just a temporary break.
Can feel isolating
We’re so accustomed to constant social media connection, it can feel very isolating and lonely at first to detach from that. Make efforts to socialize offline.
Annoying to catch up
Expect a flood of notifications when you return as Facebook dumps all your missed activity on you at once. It can be annoying weeding through it all.
Guilt over free time
If you’re used to idly browsing Facebook for hours, all your new free time can paradoxically cause guilt instead of feeling liberating. Avoid falling into the trap of passive screen time!
Tips for a Successful Facebook Break
Here are some tips to get the most out of your Facebook break:
- Tell close friends you’ll be offline so they know it’s not personal.
- Remove Facebook apps and shortcuts from your devices.
- Find new hobbies or activities to fill your free time.
- Make plans to spend time with important friends/family.
- If you feel isolated, join meetings, classes or social events.
- Seek support if you’re struggling with more alone time.
- Replace mindless browsing with reading, exercising, etc.
- If you slip up, just start again – don’t give up!
Conclusion
Taking a break from Facebook friends can be a healthy way to re-evaluate your relationships, get perspective, take a mental health break from social media, avoid unwanted content, and focus on living your life more fully offline. But don’t disappear for too long or you may miss out! Find the right balance for your needs. And consider culling your Facebook friends list when you return to remove toxic connections.