We know that social media can be bad for our mental health, but we keep coming back for more. Many users think that nothing positive or healthy can come from it, but new research suggests it actually can. According to a new study, viewing body positive content on Facebook can lead to better body image over time.
It turns out, you really can curate your social media feeds to make yourself feel better - not worse - about your body and other areas of your life, too. And this is how you do it:
- Be ruthless - Start by taking note of the posts that make you feel anything that you don’t want to, whether that’s sad, depressed, jealous or some other negative emotion, advises social media expert Rhea Freeman. She says those are the accounts you want to mute, snooze or unfollow completely.
- Ditch the fitspo posts - If these are a source of unpleasant feelings, stop following these and follow more “appearance neutral” accounts, ones that don’t post anything that has to do with appearance or those that appeal to a diverse audience.
- Use hashtags - Many creators use them to categorize content, so Rhea suggests looking at the hashtags used by some of your favorite creators and use them to find content that makes you feel good about who you are.
- Let the algorithms do the work - Social media sites use algorithms to determine what users see and the more you interact with specific content, the more you’ll see of it. So if you’re tired of seeing posts about diets, stop liking, commenting or sharing them. Then like, share or comment on the content that sparks joy for you and you’ll get more of that in your feed.
Source: Metro
Scott's Thoughts:
- How great would it be if everything in your social media feed made you feel better about yourself, not worse?
- We all need more positivity in our lives!
- If only I could control the kind of people I interact with using hashtags!