Social media is annoying. There’s a lot of “I hate it when this happens and when that happens” going on.
Well, you know what? This and that don’t have to happen if you know some tips and tricks, and most of them start somewhere in the settings. Let’s start with these from the major platforms to make your social media experience more enjoyable.
Are those Facebook ads going to affect my data? It’s possible, but here’s how to make sure it doesn’t. On an iOS device, go to your main settings menu and select Facebook and then settings. Scroll down to auto-play and select either “Wi-Fi only” or “off.” That will ensure loading the ads won’t use any cellular data. On an Android device, open the Facebook app, hit menu and then settings. Under general settings, check the box marked “Auto-play videos on Wi-Fi only.”
So many Twitter alerts! First things first: Some Twitter alerts will be helpful. When people mention you or send you a message, you probably should know. But Twitter offers more alerts that the average person needs. Scroll to the settings menu on iOS and select Twitter or the settings menu or check the Twitter settings in the Android app. One additional trick I’ve learned from using iOS for a while: If you download more than one Twitter app and don’t make any changes, you could be receiving the same alerts from multiple programs. In those cases, it’s wise to just pick one default program and turn notifications off entirely on the others.
I signed up for Google Plus — probably because you told me to — and now it’s nonstop notifications. Google Plus tries to be helpful by allowing you to change email and phone alerts right from your desktop settings. That’s great, but there are so many settings spanning several categories from posts to events to photos. On one hand, the ability to make such detailed changes is welcome. On the other hand, if you don’t manage your notifications correctly, you’ll want to throw your phone at something. I would recommend making the changes right from the website on your desktop or laptop, but know that you can also use the settings menu in the mobile app. Bonus tip: Take a close look at the photo settings. Google is very ambitious with what it wants to do with your photos by default. Don’t agree to anything you aren’t comfortable with such as auto backup, which saves every photo and video you take.
Why is Instagram showing me people’s first photos? Good question. Why, indeed? Someone somewhere thought this was useful. It’s not. Turn off that setting, as well as others in the notification menu. Remember: Instagram is all about mobile so there’s not much you can do settings-wise at Instagram.com other than revoke access to third party apps. That’s important, but you’ll need access to your phone to make the big changes. Some settings I would turn off in addition to first photos are reminders and friends on instagram. After that, consider changing the settings under likes and comments — two separate settings — to “From People I Follow.” This will prevent you being notified every single time someone interacts with your photo, unless you’re into that sort of thing.
Remember: You control your social media. It should never control you.
What questions do you have about social media? Tweet them to @scottkleinberg with hashtag #SoSocial. He might select yours for use in a future column.