Why you should update your digital contacts

Whatever you call them: friends, followers, connections, or digital contacts… How many do you have on your social media channels?

The more important question, however, is, do you really know them, or are they just an acquaintance?

Digital contacts tend to creep up on us, like Tupperware lids and socks missing their mate. While you are probably pretty sure of how or where you met these contacts, can you say that you speak to them every day? Even every week? What about on their birthday?

If you bumped into them on the street tomorrow, how would the conversation go, if at all?

Like all cleaning tasks, a regular clean-up is a very healthy idea, and this applies to your digital contacts as well.

Limiting the exposure of your information, photos and updates to online friends you genuinely know and trust will reduce the risk of your information getting into the wrong hands. Almost all of us know someone whose account has been hacked – and if that happens, you truly have no idea who has seen your information. 

Identity theft is a very real circumstance, directly related to oversharing online, so exposing your information to folks you don’t know well (those acquaintances we mentioned earlier), could lead to issues.

Another good reason to reduce the number of digital contacts? Less brain overload.

Culling ultimately eliminates ‘bloating’ in your news feed. 

We consume about 34 gigabytes of data and information each and every day. Reducing your digital contacts will directly reduce the number of items you’ll see in your social media feeds, possibly leading to a shorter amount of time spent on social media, which is the ultimate health benefit.

So how does one go about deciding who stays and who goes? And can this task be done conflict-free?

British University lecturer, Brian Lobel tours and teaches the world the most conflict-free method of culling digital contacts with dignity. His workshop is based on a personal project he underwent in 2011 to delete a large number of his Facebook friends after considering the impact his online friends were having on his real life.

Brian’s suggestion is to focus on your relationship with the person. Does your online relationship with them add value, or does it take away from your life? If the negatives outweigh the positives, it may be time to remove them.

Another smart way to decide if someone should stay or go? Using the platform’s birthday reminders. If you’re not comfortable wishing them a happy birthday, it might be the ideal time to hit ‘delete’.

If you regularly update your digital contacts, what would you say tips the scale in your decision?

 

If you would like to discuss my services, please do get in touch. Drop me a message on shirley@virtualofficebox.com

Shirley