I was never a Social Media enthusiast. I initially got Facebook just because that’s the platform we used to create reminders or set meetings between group-mates for projects when I was still a University student. Eventually I also got Instagram and that was it. I used Instagram to post pictures of things that interest me and I thought my friends would find interesting too, it was only the later part of Instagram that people started to post images that were staged to look a certain way or portray a certain aesthetic. It was before the age of influencers and today it’s all about the influencer.
My relationship with this particular social media platform became negative when influencers started to become mainstream and I used to follow the bandwagon and follow personalities who I thought emulated the things that I wanted to be. After a while all the things that I thought of chasing was actually weighing me down. I went on a cleanse and started unfollowing all the users who I knew didn’t help me to appreciate myself and the life I lived. Even some acquaintances that I knew from school, I also unfollowed because there was something in the images they were posting that fed the negativity thats in my head. They wouldn’t know that the images they were posting contributed to my negative self talk but why would they? People would only post images that expresses the best of themselves. That’s why social media platforms are there to help people market themselves whether it is their authentic self or not. Having this realization helped me be mindful of the images I post as well. Would this really help my friends and those who follow my page? Do I really need to share this? Why does this image matter?
Spending time off and living life in a way that can’t really be captured by random photos has enabled me to live my life for me. I stopped following pages that made me feel that something was missing and instead I only follow real friends and a few people who I think helps me be a better me in different areas of my life. Once a page becomes too commercial and starts pushing things that don’t anymore align with myself and who I am I quickly unfollow them. It’s amazing what else I can do with the time I spend scrolling on that app. I really got into baking sour dough breads and have a good thing going with it. I recently got back on IG and now I focus on sharing different food creations that I make whether it’s successful or not, hoping to inspire people to get into the kitchen to learn how to fee their bodies with whole foods. I also focus on minimalism and vegetariansim or anything that creates a positive wave in all the negativity out there right now.