Many of us are looking forward to the end of 2018, which will forever be branded under the word “tumultuous”. I am one of those people.
But before this year of truly trying our patience ends, maybe think about also saying good-bye to what doesn’t fill you up, and I am specifically speaking to our tenuous hold concerning social media.
I know this is not a light bulb moment but you actually get to choose the accounts and people you follow on social media. Yes, I am stating the obvious, but just because someone “follows you” doesn’t mean you have to follow back.
Mind-blowing, I know.
Here’s the thing: social media can be a good thing in the right doses. But when you follow accounts and/or people who bring you down or don’t make you feel good about you, it is time to clean house with these accounts.
For example, I know that no matter what part of the world we are living in, there seems to be some upheaval. Do you really need to follow several media news outlets on Twitter? Do you need to constantly see what so-and-so is tweeting about in regards to said issue? Do you find after checking your Twitter feed and seeing that the same crap is happening, it is just a different day, feeling low?
Unfollow.
This doesn’t mean sticking one’s head in the sand and pretending that everything is fine, but you don’t need to follow EVERYBODY. The world will keep spinning without you needing to know what is going on every single minute. Your well-being will thank you. And if unfollowing all the news people, news outlets and people advocating for change is way too difficult, that is fine. Start with unfollowing one or two people/news outlets once a week and see how you are getting your information. See how it is making you feel.
Then keep pressing forward the next week with that unfollow button.
Say it is people on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook who are constantly talking about how much money they earn and you are over here wondering if you should turn on the heat or throw on another sweater and tough it out. You look at their fabulous lives and wonder why yours isn’t fabulous and then the cycle of feeling crappy rears its ugly head again.
Unfollow.
Seriously.
If these accounts are making you feel bad about yourself, feel good about yourself and unfollow.
If there are people whose blogs you used to follow but don’t anymore, but are still following them on social media, maybe that is another avenue to explore in regards to unfollowing. Maybe you used to be a mom blogger and now you are a personal finance blogger but you still follow all these mom bloggers/blogs from your past life, consider clicking that unfollow button.
Because here is the thing: social media, in theory, is supposed to make us happy. It is a medium for us to communicate with others and be happy about it.
If social media and the accounts you are following are bumming you out, take a good hard look at what and who you follow and what you are occupying your time with.
Really look at all of your social media accounts and think about 2019: do you really want to start the new year following people and/or businesses that you are truly not getting any value out of?
Less is more. Always.
So true, Mackenzie. I really need to limit my twitter time (it’s the only social media I really have besides Pinterest, which isn’t an issue, unless too many recipes and cat memes are bad somehow). I try but then down the rabbit hole I go. And it’s a more than a time suck but also a soul suck too. Now, in fairness, sometimes seeing others unite and rally does make me feel good because I worry that I people are getting complacent and we’re normalizing hate and lowering standards on what’s acceptable. I feel reassured to see I’m not standing alone, but the flip side is that it can be so ugly and vicious and negative too. Preach! You’re 100% right there are bloggers I follow who don’t make me feel good about myself and not because they’re retweeting or liking political stuff but because they make me feel bad about myself. Part of that is on me (comparing when I know I shouldn’t) but also some people want others to feel jealous, even if they profess otherwise. They’re not sharing to inspire or encourage but solely for praise and profit and we don’t see through their fake veneer. Some also blatantly lie or exaggerate their lives which we use as a yardstick against our own messy, imperfect lives. It’s hard to find that balance but unfollowing those who don’t lift us is definitely a start.
Yes, I think in this day and age, we really have to take out what is not helping our lives and our self-esteem. We have to do what makes us feel good! 🙂
Amen sister!
Thanks Tonya!
Side by side with unfollowing: block at will! When gross people start spouting gross things, I don’t even give it a second thought, I block them. There’s no reason to let toxicity become the rule of the Twitter account.
Exactly! 🙂