With the coronavirus, this super long year, and especially after the most recent election, it’s not uncommon to believe that there is plenty of stress within our society as well as on social media. Tensions may rise and there are endless facebook status debates where after reading through the comments, it seems like no one really makes sense.
Not to mention the fact that social media shows irrelevant and inauthentic content that causes viewers to compare themselves physically or monetarily. It’s easy to get caught up in the trends, the fashion, the lifestyles, or even body image. There are many studies that show that social media and how celebrities are portrayed in the media, affect young girls and their self-esteem. If we can accept that, then we should be able to accept the fact that seeing people we know on social media can affect us too.
Oftentimes there’s the notion that “oh I can’t unfollow her, I’ve known her forever” or “that’s my friend’s friend” or “but I’m cool seeing my significant other’s ex”. NO. Just because you went to elementary school with so and so or you love someone’s style does not mean they deserve your attention if it’s not going to benefit you.
You have to think about what you want to see in your feed. Do you want your pages to be filled with positive people who you admire and like and relate to? Or do you follow people who you compare yourself to and are seeing their posts ever getting you down and dimming your energy? Are you allowing your jealousy to get the best of you to the point that you are more worried about other people and not prioritizing yourself?
You need to be able to focus on yourself and give yourself the love that you expect from others. If you don’t think that the people you follow add anything positive to your feed/life, then why are you following them? (This applies to family, friends, or classmates too!!!) I recently did a quick following social media cleanse (even had some people unfollow me) and I can honestly say that it felt so good.
I see doing this as a good baby step in self-care. Self-care can be done in so many forms, what matters is that at the end of the day you’re happy with yourself, inside and out. Looking at your life and noticing things that need to be changed shouldn’t be a scary thing. It’s actually a really mature characteristic to have. To be able to look at yourself in the mirror and say “wow I need to change this … for the better” is so revitalizing as well as a stress reliever. Once you can adjust the things in your life that don’t work for you and recognize what does, you have more time to focus on things to help you grow into the person you want to be.