Social Media Can be Exhausting
I am sure everyone has felt exhausted because of social media at some point. I know I have. Last year, I decided to take a more active role in my Instagram feed and unfollow people I did not like or would compare myself to all the time. I also removed followers that made me nervous about posting. I instead chose to fill my feed with accounts that spread unconditional positivity and realness.
I have noticed major improvements in my self-esteem and my confidence with posting on Instagram. I used to have to give myself a pep talk prior to posting on my Instagram and now I just do it.
I also want who I follow to reflect my interests and the things I care about. By unfollowing people who are irrelevant in my life and those who I constantly compared myself to, I opened so many doors of positivity on my social media feed. I want to share with you some accounts that make me excited to open Instagram.
@yours_sincerly_bekki
Bekki is one of my favorite people I currently follow. The main goal of her account is to spread skin and body acceptance. This is the initial reason I followed her, but I stuck around because I love her Instagram stories!
Bekki was planning her wedding when I first followed her and she was constantly sharing the behind-the-scenes details of what went into wedding planning. I was so excited for her and her husband’s big day and I felt so invested in their wedding. Shortly after they were married, Bekki announced that they were pregnant! I am so excited for them and I love seeing the updates on her pregnancy.
What it comes down to:
I love Bekki’s unconditional honesty and positivity. Her posts typically contain a letter to some part of herself or her followers. She is constantly making Instagram a more genuine place.
@evejenkinsmua
I am a huge fan of Glow Up, a makeup artist competition show on Netflix. Eve was one of my favorite makeup artists (MUA) from season two, so after finishing the season I ran to Instagram to follow her. I was hesitant at first because she is a beautiful girl and has impressive makeup skills, but I have loved following her Instagram.
She is currently doing a series where she turns common insecurities into stunning makeup looks. She also uses her platform to remind her followers that not everything you see on social media is real and shows unedited pictures of herself next to edited pictures of herself. Reminders like this help me a lot and help make my feed feel so much more genuine.
Also, I love to appreciate a good makeup look and Eve has so many stunning looks. She has such talent and it is extremely obvious by her Instagram feed. Also, as her Instagram bio claims, she is a filter-free feed. Which is always so refreshing to see.
@emmmabooks
I am an avid reader and so I follow a lot of bookish content creators. Emma is one I have been following for a long time and I have loved watching her grow and achieve her goals.
Emma is a 25-year-old YouTuber that lives in Long Island, NY. She is a mental health counselor and uses her platform to speak about mental health. She has dealt with mental health struggles for most of her life and is very open about it on social media, particularly with her eating disorder recovery. She is also very open about being a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Emma posts fairly often on Instagram and she takes time into giving life updates and getting real with her followers. I also really admire that when she wants to do something, she goes out and does it. She just recently graduated with her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I admire her ambition so much.
I also love Emma’s taste in fashion. She is always wearing the cutest outfits; I aspire to be as half as fashionable as she is.
@mattxiv
I love Matt’s content. He chooses to share a lot of educational topics and information, such as information about the LGBTQ+ community and toxic masculinity, which is always appreciated. I also look forward to his Instagram stories because they are so funny.
I really appreciate that Matt is trying to inform his audience on LGBTQ+ history and topics, especially because they are not things I learned much about in school. I really appreciate him keeping people up to date on these topics.
I also love their makeup looks. Although that is not the focus of their Instagram, their makeup looks are always stunning. He also always has such beautiful nails and I overall love the vibes of his Instagram. Definitely one of my favorite people I am following.
@slimeandbooks
As I said before, I love books. But I never knew how much I loved slime until I followed Alli. Her Instagram is the perfect mesh of book reviews and slime reviews. It was something I never knew I needed until I followed her.
Typically after she finishes a book, she posts a review with a short synopsis of the book. Along with the book, she chooses a slime that matches the aesthetic of the book cover and reviews the slime as well. She also posts a little video of her kneading the slime. I never knew slime ASMR was something I loved so much until following Alli.
Alli also has really good taste in books and I have gotten many recommendations from her posts. She is also an avid library goer, like me, and I love seeing book accounts that support their local library. Her posts are so calming and I look forward to them. Hers is one of the best accounts I have ever followed.
Following Accounts You Love
Until I chose to be a more active participant in my social media feed, I did not realize how much it impacted me. I have had to unfollow a lot of influencers I love because I would unfairly compare myself to them. Yes, it is sad that I no longer follow those accounts, but I am so much happier now. Comparing myself to others on social media is so exhausting. Eliminating that aspect of my Instagram feed is still ongoing, but I am getting better at it every day.
If you are someone who is nervous about taking that jump and unfollowing someone, there is always the mute button. I would be lying if I said I do not utilize this button often. Sometimes it feels too harsh to unfollow someone, but I do not want to see their posts. So I mute them. They will never know and it makes my Instagram feed healthier.
I highly recommend reviewing the accounts you follow and finding accounts you love that spread positivity. I also highly recommend hiding your like counts on Instagram from other people and also hiding others’ like counts from your view. This makes me feel more in control of my feed. It is a simple setting change and this article from Instagram can show you how to make this change.
I wish you all a positive Instagram feed. Happy scrolling!