Social media can be a very scary place, especially nowadays. But it can also be a good resource for happiness. The important thing about social media is to make sure you use it in moderation and also stay away from pages that will drain your mental health.
We dove deep into this topic and found five types of accounts you should stay away from on Instagram.
5. Block Your Ex
Yes, this is a major one. Even if it wasn’t a bad breakup, blocking your ex may be the healthier thing to do.
In fact, a 2012 study looking at 464 participants found that staying friends with an ex on Facebook was associated with a more difficult emotional recovery from a breakup and less personal growth.
Here are some things to consider before blocking an ex:
- What do I gain from following my ex?
- Could blocking them help me get over the relationship faster?
- How does seeing their content make me feel?
- How would I feel if I blocked them?
- Could my ex following me put me in any kind of danger?
The best thing is to stay away from an ex’s account until you have fully moved on and are on happier terms with your life.
4. Any Accounts that Relies On #diet, #fitness, #health
While it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, some accounts out there might be mentally draining and will actually seem like they are attacking you rather than helping you.
Courtney Glashow, LCSW, founder and psychotherapist of Anchor Therapy LLC, says that “There are a lot of ‘diet,’ ‘health,’ ‘fitness,’ and ‘wellness’ accounts out there that are actually really harmful.”
While she says you should try to eliminate people who aren’t certified, educated, and experienced experts, you’ll also want to avoid people who spread health values that can be mentally and emotionally harmful. These could be accounts that celebrate weight loss, before and after photos, or only showcase one version of health.
When considering blocking these “health” accounts, ask yourself the following:
- Does this post make you feel less happy?
- Does this account make or try to make you feel jealous, ugly, insecure, or ashamed?
- Does this account promote products? Is this account trying to sell you something?
- Can you tell that the reality of this person’s life doesn’t match what they’re promoting or posting?
- Is this person promoting one specific way of eating?
3. Accounts That Shame Your Sexuality
Sex-negative accounts may be harder to spot. But if you see any account that implies that sex is shameful or makes you feel bad about the kind of sex you have or are not having then that may be an account you may want to block. According to psychological experts, accounts that make you feel like you need to be sexier or share more sexualized photos of yourself may fall into this category too.
You should unfollow accounts that make you feel the follow:
- like you’re not having enough sex, or are having too much
- shame for having, or not having, a certain kind of sex
- like you need to be more sexual on- or offline, or you’re not sexual enough
At the end of the day, we are all entitled to our sexuality and we shouldn’t be following accounts that shame us for it.
2. Family Members
Yes, family members can be toxic and unhealthy. There is this notion that you should stick by someone, despite them draining your mental health, just because they’re family.
Maybe you have a relative who shares articles, photos, or status updates that trigger your anxiety. Maybe they tend to argue with you in the comments section. Whatever the reason, the benefit of blocking certain family members can be two-fold: Not only will it keep you from seeing their content, but it will keep them from seeing yours.
It is important to stay away from people that make you feel uncomfortable and uneasy, even if they’re family.
It could help to have a conversation with that specific family member about their account making you feel a certain way. But remember, you should never have to apologize for the boundaries you need.
1. Threatening Media Accounts
We all knew this one was coming. We all know those pages that tend to spread fear and falsehoods to get their agenda out there. Those pages are a major red flag.
“Following news outlets can be informative and helpful to know what’s going on in the world. But it can also become too much, obsessive, and/or depressing,” says Glashow.
It is completely okay if you don’t want your Instagram feed to be flooded with the daily political turmoil that’s out there.
Blocking news accounts on Instagram won’t keep you out-of-the-loop on need-to-know happenings, but it may help you make sure that your Instagram feed doesn’t cause a shame-spiral, panic attack, or generalized.
At the end of the day, your Instagram account should be filled with things that bring you joy, comfort, and support. Stay away from things that trigger you in a certain way and always use the account in moderation. Too much of anything is never a good thing.
