Recently I decided to take a look at the information I was being fed through social media platforms, and I found out that I definitely followed some people that did not make me feel good about myself. I decided to do an Instagram cleanse and filter out anything I deemed as bad content, and I believe you should too.
The first people to go were the Instagram fitness stars. I have been following quite a few fitness stars, and instead of being motivated to jump off the couch and go on a 10 mile run or start meal prepping, I just felt bad about my body. So I cut the fitness stars out of my life. No more pictures of super sleek women doing impossible poses, super buff women lifting double their weight or bowls of ridiculously healthy and flavorless food. I was following so many I couldn't remember all the names, so when I do come across pictures from the ones I missed, I make sure to unfollow them. There are a few that I decided to keep following because I felt they had a positive influence. One of them is Rachel Brathen who's Instagram is yoga_girl. She talks about encountering real life problems and she also has a super cute baby.
The next people I cut out were people I knew that no longer seemed to have a positive impact on my life. This included exes, old friends, and people I only vaguely knew. I got tired of the crossfit posts and the annoying life updates of underachievers. I do not care to see posts of books that match mugs and are propped next to avocado toast. I also got rid of the people who are still living in high school. Moving on and growing up is healthy so I need to cut out those who were stuck in the past. I also got rid old high school friends because I have come to realize that I have grown as a person and now we share different views on the world, and as a liberal feminist our ideals no longer match.
Now that I have purged the my Instagram of those I deemed as negative influences, I have searched for positive influences and started following them. Megan Jayne Crabbe (instagram: bodyposipanda) is one of my favorite people to follow. She promotes body positivity and feminism. Amongst gorgeous photos of her are photos of other amazing women and encouraging messages about loving yourself and how to deal with those who try to convince you otherwise. Another amazing person to follow is Ruby Allergra (instagram: rvbyallegra). They promote body positivity, disability rights and awareness, LGBTQIA+ rights, feminism, and just basic human decency. Their feed is filled with gorgeous photos of themself along with their beautiful friends and super cute cat. I also follow athletes and celebrities I admire like Adam Rippon and Miley Cyrus who promote positive things along with accounts like Buzzfeed that share interesting content.
I am not saying that you should not follow fitness stars or old high school friends, but you should follow those who make you feel good about yourself and those who you follow for good reasons, so purge your accounts of the negativity.
