Block

What does it mean "To Block" Someone on Social Media?

To block an user is an action available in social media, forums, chatrooms, and other online communities, that informs the system that you don't want to receive communication from a given user, nor see them in any form.

What Happens When You're Blocked?

What happens when you block an user (or an user is blocked by someone) depends on the platform. In general, you won't be able to see the posts of a blocked user, and the blocked user won't be able to send direct messages to you.

In principle, it shouldn't be possible for the blocked user to interact with their blocker in any form that sends a notification to the blocking user.

For example, on Discord, it's possible to react to messages of other users leaving an emoji under them. A blocked user isn't able to react to messages of someone that has blocked them.

In some platforms, the blocked user also can't se any post from the user that blocked them. For example, on Instagram and Twitter, if a user blocked you, you won't be able to see their profile. A reason is to combat the practice of stalking: in which a person stays "following" another on social networks, looking at everything about their lives.

On Reddit, you can't see the profile of an user that you blocked. A reason is that users are blocked for being "toxic," and for posting unpleasant things, so there is no reason to view posts of an user that you consider toxic.

Although it's easy to find out that you have been blocked by someone, in general there is no notification that ou have been blocked.