I follow an Instagram account that only shares reminders to drink water and hydrate with new posts showing up on my feed multiple times a day. It actually helps. And lets me know again how important it is to curate what I’m consuming on social media. I’ve tried to take steps to cut off my mindless scrolling but I’ve found lately that I’ve been checking my phone more and more.
And yes, mostly it’s friends and feminism and self-care reminders. But I was following an old classmate that had started posting daily about her fitness journey which (while having some motivational aspects) seemed to be mostly posting pictures of her sideways in the mirror showing off her very skinny, muscled body. And you know, she looked great and I’m sure it made her feel great, but it wasn’t making me feel great. So I unfollowed.
We have more power than we think about what hurts our feelings. And my Instagram feed doesn’t get to hurt my feelings. I already have the actual news to contend with, not to mention that voice in my head that I have spend years coaxing into liking myself.
I have friends who’ve taken sabbaticals from Instagram and other social media for this very reason: so often it is an art in rose-coloring our lives. There is a place for authenticity on social media that I think some people do exercise. But it is a fine balance between authenticity and over-sharing and letting these platforms be a place without the other edges in life . . . letting it be rose-colored. So sometimes I think those deserters have the right idea.
For now, I curate reminders about hydrating.
With Love,
Natalie