The Love in Unfollowing
Unfollowing as a form of self-love
By Maddie Gamble, Contributing Writer
Every couple of months I go through the accounts I follow on Instagram and unfollow the ones that don’t contribute to my happiness. It’s simple—if an account doesn’t radiate the energy I’m searching for, why should I allow it to be a part of my life?
Unfollowing has been labeled as a spiteful act. But why? People who don’t align with the growth, vision or mindset we desire don’t deserve our attention. Unfollowing to nurture our energy is positive. Unfollowing to grow is positive. Unfollowing to move on is positive.
Unfollowing doesn’t have to stem from negativity; it can be a product of self-love.
According to Courtney Seiter, former director of people at Buffer, 68% of people say they post on social media to give others an improved sense of who they are and what they care about (2016). Our accounts give insight to the world about what we value, the things we love and the energy we radiate. In a sense, we use them to self-identify. We put out images that encourage the world to see us in a certain way and follow accounts that represent who we want to be.
Recently, Instagram created a new feature that allows users to see which accounts they interact with the most and the least. When an Instagram spokesperson was asked about the feature, they stated, “Instagram is really about bringing you closer to the people and things you care about - but we know that over time, your interests and relationships can evolve and change” (TIMESOFINDIA.COM, 2020).
The primary reason we unfollow is simple. We aren’t interested in the account’s voice anymore. Our interests change as we grow. Mindsets evolve and priorities change. The content we chose to absorb on social media isn’t static. That’s the beautiful thing about it; we get to create a feed that encourages the lifestyle we aspire to have. The unfollow button is a huge part of that.
Unfollowing gives us the opportunity to move on from the past. We can focus on loving ourselves by unfollowing accounts that promote toxic beauty standards. We can choose to move on by unfollowing the people who broke our hearts. We can foster gratitude and happiness by unfollowing accounts that promote negativity.
Unfollowing for the wrong reasons is an easy thing to do. I’m guilty of unfollowing accounts simply because they unfollowed me. It’s seen as an action fueled by resentment and pettiness, but it doesn’t have to be.
The possibilities are endless to unfollow positively. There should be no guilt in clicking the unfollow button. In fact, there should be a little love attached to the action. Self-love.
Sources:
Seiter, C. (2016, August 10). The Psychology of Social Media: Why We Like, Comment, and Share Online. Buffer.
TIMESOFINDIA.COM. (2020, February 7). Instagram has a new feature, you can use it to unfollow accounts.
WE THE URBAN [@wetheurban]. (2022, January 27). Instagram Post.