Dissecting the Intractability of Social Media Feeds

Do you hate seeing irrelevant suggested content in your Facebook feed? Would you prefer it not to appear there? Unfortunately, you can’t directly disable content suggestions, and Facebook doesn’t allow you to do so.

Nevertheless, you can customize the “Suggested for you” section of your Facebook news feed so that you see content that is relevant to you.

Below, we’ll examine what “Suggested for you” content is, why Facebook doesn’t let you disable it permanently, and what options you have to ensure that you only receive relevant suggestions.

How Does Facebook’s “Suggested for You” Feature Work?

“Suggested for you” is a Facebook feature that suggests relevant content based on the user’s activity. Users may see videos similar to one they have commented on, a photo they have just downloaded, or an article they have spent several minutes reading.

Facebook suggests such content to keep users glued to the app for longer, but how does it determine what content to suggest? According to Meta’s help center , suggested content on Facebook is influenced by three main factors: related content, related topics, and location.

Hence, the content you see as suggestions is based on the following:

• Topics you’ve previously engaged with.
• Content with higher engagement by other members of the page or group you also frequently converse with.
• The type of content people in the same location as you are currently engaged with.

Facebook content creators can benefit significantly from these suggestions, which increase the reach and engagement of Facebook posts . However, these can sometimes be annoying for users—especially if the content they see is irrelevant. Sadly, Facebook doesn’t allow users to disable these suggestions. The question is, why?

Why Can’t You Turn Off “Suggested for You” Content on Facebook?

Facebook’s algorithm aims to keep users engaged for as long as possible. The greater the engagement, the more revenue the business will generate. So, content suggestions were introduced to help the algorithm show users more relevant content, encouraging them to spend more time scrolling.

As content suggestions can lead users down a rabbit hole from which it’s hard to escape—something every social media platform wants—why would Facebook allow users to disable them? This would negate the whole purpose of the feature. As such, Facebook allows you to customize these suggestions based on your preferences.

Simply put, Facebook doesn’t want you to stop these suggestions but tailor them to your liking. This way, its algorithm could keep you on the app longer, and you can enjoy relevant content you might not have noticed otherwise. Let’s take a look at how you can customize these suggestions.

How to Tailor the “Suggested for You” Content on Facebook

There is no direct way to customize what you see as suggested content on Facebook. Instead, you will have to hide or snooze all posts containing irrelevant content separately. You can let Facebook know what you do not want to see as suggestions, so it will only suggest relevant content.

Facebook allows you to disable specific types of posts you’ve seen in suggestions, temporarily disable posts from a particular page, or permanently stop seeing them. To apply these preferences to irrelevant content that appears in your suggestions on the Facebook website and follow the steps below:

1. Go to the suggested post you want to submit feedback for.
2. Click on thethree horizontal dots in the top-right corner of the suggested post.
3. To hide similar posts from your suggestions, clickHide post .
4. Select theSnooze for 30 days orHide all from to stop seeing posts from a specific page for 30 days or an unlimited period, respectively.
5. ClickReport post if you find a post that is against your standards.

Facebook app users can also tailor content suggestions the same way on their iOS and Android devices. You’ll find the same options to manage content suggestions here as you do on the Facebook website.

Tips to See Relevant Content in the “Suggested for You” Section

Even though you can tailor suggested content to some extent using the above steps, you may still occasionally come across irrelevant content in your feed. That’s also due to your Facebook activity. So, to make sure your “Suggested for you” section is full of relevant content, here are a few dos and don’ts to remember:

• Don’t engage with Facebook content that you don’t want to see as suggestions, even negatively. For instance, if you comment on a disturbing post and express an opposite opinion, Facebook may still show you similar content based on your engagement. It’s the same for reactions, shares, and other interactions.
• If irrelevant content appears multiple times in suggestions, even after hiding it, it is best to unfollow or block that Facebook page. To unfollow a Facebook page, click on its name in the suggested post and click theFollowing button. To block the Facebook page, click on its name from the suggested post, click on thethree horizontal dots , and then clickBlock .
  
• Leave the group you’re part of if it shares content that goes against your values. To leave the group, clickJoined below the group name and then clickLeave group .
  

Take a look at a few other ways to customize your Facebook feed . When you let Facebook know you don’t like seeing irrelevant posts and only engage with desired ones, it will always keep relevant posts in content suggestions.

But is there any alternative to stop seeing all content suggestions on Facebook’s news feed and clean it up? There is, and that is to use third-party extensions. However, considering its security risks, we strongly advise against it.

Don’t Use Third-Party Extensions

Many third-party extensions can help you control the type of content you see on Facebook and remove unneeded content. However, we strongly advise against using untrusted browser extensions for security reasons. Here are some reasons why:

• Using any third-party extension violates Facebook’s terms and conditions, and if your account is detected for such activity,Facebook may ban you .
• Even if third-party extensions claim not to collect user data, there is no guarantee that they will adhere to their privacy policies. They could collect sensitive information from you that would pose a severe security threat.
• The use of third-party extensions can interfere with Facebook’s source code, which could result in you experiencing countless issues when using the platform.

Customize Facebook Content Suggestions

Seeing irrelevant content as suggestions on Facebook can be annoying. And if it contradicts our values, it’s even worse.

Hopefully, you now better understand how Facebook’s content suggestions work and how to tailor them. If you follow the tips discussed above, the content you find in your suggestions will be more relevant.