It’s Time To Unfollow Instagram Accounts That Make You Feel Bad About Yourself

Unsplash/Annie Spratt

When it comes to the human psyche, there’s nothing innocent about Instagram.

On the surface, it seems like a fun place to peek through your friends’ fun photos and goofy stories. But it’s also inundated with carefully targeted advertisements, “influencers” using editing software to warp the version of their reality you see and accounts that showcase all of the things you cannot have right this moment in your life. That’s why it’s so easy to spiral out of control during those scrolling sessions, feeling increasingly stressed and bummed out by how inadequate your own life seems.

But it’s time to do something about that shitty feeling.

Take some time today to open up that list of accounts you follow and genuinely ask yourself how the content on each account makes you feel. Keep the ones that give off positive vibes and unfollow the ones that consistently leave you feeling down on yourself. This wonderful housecleaning of your favorite social media platform is called “Insta-purging.”

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If a travel inspiration account makes you feel hopeful and motivated, keep that baby in your reel. If it’s a daily reminder of your budgetary problems that are getting in the way of you taking your next vacay, it’s time to unfollow — at least for a little while. If celebrity accounts make you laugh and supply you with fun quotes to share with your friends, amazing. But if they constantly showcase that size 00 waist that’s out of the question for your gene pool and make you feel like your personal wellness goals will never measure up, ditch those accounts pronto.

You get the idea — it’s like the Marie Kondo-ing of your Instagram account. If it doesn’t serve a clear purpose or fill you with joy (or another positive, productive emotion), get rid of it. You don’t need that kind of negative subliminal messaging every time you look at your phone. Our tech obsessions cause enough problems as it is, right?

Depending on how into the social media platform you are, Insta-purging could take you a little while. But that’s okay — just tackle your “following” list in chunks, knowing that each time you trim it down, you’re performing an act of self-care that will benefit you every day thereafter. We’re feeling better already.

[h/t PureWow]

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