I know the plotline here: The breakup absolutely sucked. Maybe it was torcherous. There had been a lot of arguing, a lot of ~hostile~ messages sent and after that, a lot of New Girl reruns while crying into your Caramel Macchiato Halo Top.
Or maybe, instead, you went home after that fight, and blasted your best early 2000s angsty breakup playlist on Spotify (Since U Been Gone, anyone?) and moved right on…until you got drunk and texted him a week later. Better yet? Maybe the breakup was fine. You and your SO both decided to stay friends for a while.
Friends. Shudder.
Regardless of the situation, as long as you follow each other on social media, you’ll constantly be reminded of that time in your life and all of the good that happened while you guys were together. With all of this in mind, here’s 5 reasons why you should unfollow your ex on social media and stop hitting refresh on their life without you in it.
1. You can become obsessed with how they are doing
Social media stalking is very real. We not only see our friends scrolling down profiles of ex friends and ex flames alike, but we are guilty too. We become a slave to the Instagram activity page just as easily as anyone else.
If you breakup with someone, you may feel the need to check up on them through media outlets – especially if the communication is lacking. Instead, turn off those post notifications and hit that unfollow button so you don’t become obsessed with checking to see how your ex is now doing without you. You don’t need to see what Jim posted from that concert last week. You don’t need to check Kelly’s account every three days to see what party she’s at now. No matter how tempting.
2. You will be happier
You deserve to be happy. Do not feel obligated to follow your ex on social media just because you guys had some sort of history. Sometimes you have to do what is right for you. If seeing how happy your ex is without you makes you feel insecure about yourself, you have every right to unfollow that person. You deserve to be happy and move on just as much as your ex does.
3. Allows you to move on
Out of sight? Out of mind. You can apply this rule by forbidding yourself from constantly see your ex posting on social media. Your ex needs to be fully removed from your mind, Instagram, and Snap alike.
4. You no longer need to post in hopes of getting your ex’s attention
No. Don’t post that bomb golden-hour selfie and think to yourself, “James is totally going to get thirst trapped by this.” Post that picture for yourself. Post that picture because you look good, not because you think that your ex may think that you look good. If you unfollow your ex from the start, you’ll think about them less when you post because you’ll no longer be seeing your ex’s posts.
5. Helps you focus on your current relationship
Lets just say that after you and your ex broke up that you ended up dating another person. Good for you! Now, you wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with someone while still being attentive to your ex’s social media accounts, would you? You and your new significant other deserve to be in a relationship in which all of your attention is on each other. A new relationship deserves new attention and energy. Hit that unfollow button and spend more energy focusing on your current relationship than comparing it to your past one.
We love social media. We hate social media. We can’t live without social media.
At the same time you may love, hate, or feel like you can’t live without your ex. But, after any breakup, your mental health, stability, and happiness comes first regardless of which one it may be. Don’t give those things up just because you have to give them up.