Rotating between Instagram, TikTok and X (Twitter) will have you consuming dozens of social media content in seconds and wondering how two hours passed by from just scrolling on your phone. From Kylie Jenner’s newest Instagram post, “signs your ex wants you back” TikTok’s, or reading tweets from @SadQuotes, sometimes we become victim to media that leaves us feeling insecure.
With 24/7 access to social media and Gen Z’s mindfulness of mental health, being intentional about the kinds of posts we engage with can transform the way we doom-scroll on these platforms.
Instead of investing in Ariana Grande’s relationship with her media-criticized men, following X’s “Girl Talk” community, or mindlessly scrolling on TikTok’s void-filling videos, does your social media extend itself as a platform that feels good to you?
It’s no secret that our algorithm adapts to showing more like-minded posts of ones we previously engaged with. If your feed is solely filled with relationship advice, “desired” body types, celebrity gossip, reminders of insecurities and other dispensable content: you need an upgrade!
Here are six ways to transform your social media feed.
Find social media pages with similar interests
What are your favorite shows? Music? Sports? Foods? Animals? Games? Books? Movies? Cars? Art? Clothes?
You can probably find people and creators that likely share the same interests that you do.
For example, I enjoy seeing artist drawings from Tokyo Revengers, performance clips from The Weeknd, and cat videos or photos. These are things I intentionally searched for until their content started becoming regulars on my FYP.
Social media isn’t just for pop culture like “stan Twitter.” It’s for that vacation spot on your bucket list, your comfort foods and desserts, quotes from your favorite author, cat videos that are irresistibly too cute to skip, unexpected laughs you get from strangers and other personable feel-good content. All it takes is that one small extra step of searching for the things you like to make them appear on your FYP.
Finding pages that share similar interests as you will make your social media feel a lot more enjoyable to scroll through. It’s a lot more engaging and comforting to see the things you actually like to see on a regular basis versus brain rotting.
Create a regular source of inspiration
What are your hobbies? Professional goals? Personal goals? Do you like cooking? Drawing? Reading? Gym workouts? Travelling? Looking for something that will give you a wake-up call at 3 am?
Replace hours of brain rot by adding a bit of inspiration to your feed. This is a great way to start subliminally manifesting the things you want to do. All you need are some words or visuals to trigger your consciousness, and it’s easily accessible through social media.
Following others with similar hobbies as you or in the profession you’re curious about will eventually inspire you to make the first move to be in that space too.
For example, I often find myself on #Foodstagram and #FoodTok when it comes to finding new places to eat in my city. Because of these posts, I eventually made plans to try them out. I also love creating stickers, even though I’m still a beginner. Yet I learn so much following smaller creators who also like making stickers.
Whatever your goals are, give it a search on TikTok, Instagram or X and you’re likely to find others that engage in the activities or professional careers that you’re interested in. If you’re thinking about doing something new but don’t know where to start, get ideas from others on social media.
Daily affirmation encouragements
When we’re always looking down on our phone screens, wouldn’t it be great to have that little reminder about how great you’re doing despite your challenges?
While something so small may not have the most likes or comments on social media, these are the gentle reminders in between our busy lives to be kinder to ourselves. While some posts on our FYP are out of our control, we can see more positive affirmation posts the more we follow or engage with them.
The Crisis Text Line’s Positive Affirmations blog post says “Negative self-talk can take a significant toll on our mental and emotional health, and it’s essential to rewire our thought patterns to build a positive self-image.” Reading positive affirmations as we scroll through our feed can encourage a kinder and better self-image.
For starters, here are some accounts I recommend following:
TikTok: @inikkivalentine, @simplifying.sam, @lvydvys
Instagram: @wetheurban, @quotesbychristie, @wearefeelgoodclub
X: @iambrillyant, @oyerooh, @affirmingnow
By engaging with these pages, your feed will adjust to having a variety of your usual content and positive affirmations.
Remove pages that trigger insecurities and setbacks
It’s okay to have insecurities, but why would you want a reminder of them?
If you become triggered by a social media post that reminds you of your physical or emotional insecurities, unfollow or hit “not interested” on that post. There is so much unavoidable “negative” content on the internet, but it’s your decision to not take it personally and move on.
For years now, the Kardashians have always been the hot topic of beauty standards. Their “hourglass” body figures, cosmetic surgeries and injections have had an impact on pop culture and the expected “norm” of women to look a particular way.
It’s unrealistic to look at the Kardashians and compare your body to theirs. This is one example of not following influencers who don’t realistically align with you. Instead find creators with your body type that promote confidence.
Another example of “negative” content is the emotional ones that’ll have us overthink our relationships, goals and feelings in general. These are posts that give off the vibe of a rainy cloud over someone’s head. Disengage from posts about feeling like you’re not good enough and over time your feed will improve.
Avoiding comparing yourself with others
We hear this all the time… but where to start?
Social media is more than hundreds of pages and people we don’t follow but find on our feeds. It’s there to connect with our friends, family and mutuals too.
We see photos of friends graduating, starting a business, buying a house, going on vacations and all these other life-hitting milestones. These are exciting times when we should be happy for them and their decision to share these moments with us.
Even though we look at others’ celebrations and feel as if we’re not where we are to accomplish the same thing, our experiences are personable to us. If your friend likes pineapple pizza and you don’t, would you still pressure yourself to eat the pineapple pizza? Maybe pepperoni sounds a lot more appetizing.
In time, you’ll do your own thing and create your own wins that are meaningful and true to you. Your life experience is not anyone else’s but your own and your experiences will shape you to be a person that no one else can take from you.
Don’t take social media personally
Unless you’re following 10 people, it’s impossible to have your feed only consist of your interests, affirmations and inspirations. For example, TikTok often shows us popular videos with millions of views and likes from people we don’t follow.
Whether on TikTok, Instagram, or X, I encourage you to not take all the other doom-scrolling posts personally. It’s a short-term space for enjoyment, catching up with friends and trends or being aware of what’s happening in the world.
Taking social media too personally can be detrimental. Posting on social media requires revision, edits and reviewing most of the time before someone posts it. Real life isn’t always picture perfect like the posts we see.
