9 Things to Remember When Social Media Makes You Feel Bad

 

 

1. CREATE CONTENT INSTEAD OF JUST CONSUMING IT: “I won’t fall into the hole of worrying about what others are doing because it makes me feel down, and takes time away from putting energy towards things that matter,” says Massy, who spends the bulk of her social media time posting her own content and responding to followers who engage with it.

 

2. MAKE POSTS MEANINGFUL: “I post about three times a day, and try to make most of those posts about something that matters,” Massy says.

 

3. SPEND NO MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR MONITORING A POST ONCE IT’S LIVE: “I’ll spend 30 minutes engaging with fans after I post. I’ll address questions, and then I go back to real life,” advises Massy. “We all have lives.”

 

4 FOLLOW PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE INSTEAD OF WHAT THEY POST:  Read post captions to find comments that make you smile or nod in agreement, and follow people who have cool personalities.

 

5 DON’T FOLLOW PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOU FEEL SH*TTY: If a person’s posts constantly make you feel jealous, angry, or insufficient? Goodbye. You won’t miss their updates.

 

6. COMPARE YOURSELF THE RIGHT WAY: Massy says she’ll take between 20 to 25 photos of herself before getting a shot that she’s cool with posting—and chances are, the model who’s thigh-gap you’re coveting did the same thing.

 

7. EVERYONE USES PHOTOSHOP AND EDITING APPS: “Even putting a filter over a picture means you’re altering that image,” Massy says. That’s why it’s silly to compare Instagram to real life.

 

8. SCROLL THROUGH YOUR OLD POSTS FOR A CONFIDENCE BOOST: Instead of scrolling through other people’s photos, look at your own. Checking out your best angles can make you feel pretty freaking good.

 

9.  REMEMBER REAL LIFE: “Social media isn’t everything there is. Don’t confuse it for real life — they’re not the same thing,” says Massy.