Don’t get me wrong — I love Facebook. I could spend hours there, reading status updates from family and friends, playing FarmVille, and taking quizzes. But there’s one thing about Facebook I hate — the Lurkers. You know, that guy from Accounting or from the gym who instantly comments on every one of your status updates, or who clicks “like” on everything you post. Slightly creepy, no? I’ve had a few of them, and they’re so annoying and generally icky. Some are easy to get rid of, but others are a little more persistent. Here are 7 ways to ditch a Facebook lurker.
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Make a Statement
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Photo Credit: laurenlemon
This is the easiest and most direct way to stop a Facebook lurker — call him or her out. If they post something odd, you can either delete it, or better yet, respond to it in a way that’s not brutal or mean, just direct. Then move on!
Tell Him to Bugger off
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Photo Credit: Super.School
If the lurker persists and won’t leave a topic alone, or if they just won’t drop an issue, there’s a somewhat snarky thing you can do to get your leave-me-alone point across. Simply tell him to bugger off. Then do the following steps…
Frequently asked questions
Hide Yourself
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First, log in to your account and amend your privacy settings so that only friends can see your profile. This will prevent a potential lurker from finding you, or someone you delete from adding you, or messaging you again.
Delete Him
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Photo Credit: M i x y
Next delete the lurker from your friends list. They won’t get an alert letting them know that you’ve deleted them, but they’ll be gone. That means he won’t see anything you post, and it might even take him a few days to realize it. Good!
Block Him
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Photo Credit: Old Sarge
Now that you’ve deleted Mr. Lurky, block him so he can’t find you again, ever. He might create another profile to try and find you again, but remember, you’ve hidden your profile, so he won’t be able to find you anyway.
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Report Him
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If he still won’t leave you alone, or if anyone posts anything inappropriate, report him to Facebook. It’s easy, and though Facebook is sometimes slow to respond, it will feel good to do something about it, won’t it?
Delete Your Account
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If all else fails, you can always delete your Facebook profile. That’s really something as a last resort, since who doesn’t love Facebook? But it’s the last thing you can do to shake a persistent, sneaky lurker-boy.
Take that, Mr. Rude-Comment-Leaver or Lurky-Boy! Your days of harassing us on Facebook are over! Follow these steps and you’ll be free of these pests in short order. Have you ever had to ditch a Facebook stalker? Which of these things did you do? Or is there something you’ve done that I left off my list? Please let me know… it may come in handy!
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