Unfollow These Accounts On Social Media Immediately.
Social media has the power to educate, inform, and enrich our lives.
It also has the unfortunate power to confuse us, feed us inaccurate information as if itโs fact, and make us feel like total shit about ourselves.ย
How many times have you seen a photo or post on social and questioned your own life, weight, eating habits, job, clothes, or whatever else? Or, had some long-lost โfriendโ pop up out of nowhere and try to sell you Isagenix crap?
Social media is like the Olympics of bullshit, and itโs up to us to navigate it skillfully. That can be brutally hard. Between influencers pushing all things ‘wellness’, โdoctorsโ selling crazy diets, and the actual legit accounts, it pays to know who to follow and who to trim from your following list altogether.ย
You all know how I feel about charlatan doctors and โhealth gurusโ, but some of the other worst offenders are influencers with impossibly curated โaspirationalโ health and wellness social media feeds.
Most of these accounts portray the influencer and their supposedly incredible #bloggerlife. In reality, and youโll read more about this below, many of these accounts are totally fake, meaning that weโre looking at something that doesnโt really existโฆat least in the way it appears to.
Still, โaspirationalโ accounts tend to make us โaspireโ to be these people, because thatโs human nature. Weird, I know.
While we know that we probably shouldnโt be following accounts that make us feel bad or that we know arenโt good for us, for some reason itโs tough to let them go. I have no idea why. I too have struggled with unfollowing people on social whose stuff I actually despise and that enrages me just to scroll past it.ย
Sometimes I donโt click โunfollowโ because I know the person behind the account, or because I convince myself that their posts really arenโt all that bad. But thereโs no reason to justify it: if someone makes me feel crappy or angry in real life, I generally try to avoid them. How many times have you seen someone on the street or at a party and totally tried to hide because you just canโt deal with them?
Unfollowing someone is the equivalent of turning your back and walking the other way when you see someone on the street that you donโt like.ย
Itโs like saying, โI donโt have time for your crap, especially because itโs boring, misleading, and it makes me question myself.โ
Guys, believe me when I tell you that taking that step is never going to be a bad idea.ย
And with that in mind, here are the types of accounts to unfollow immediately:
The Instagram wellness influencer whose life is obviously fake.
I donโt know about you, but thereโs something about someone who calls themselves a โprofessional influencerโ thatโs a bit gag-inducing. The influencer industry is full of self-absorbed vapid people whose only mission is to look good for โlikesโ and money.ย Itโs entertainment, thatโs all. Itโs also fake AF.
Having spent considerable time with at least one foot in the influencer world, I can tell you a few things about the things youโre typically seeing on many (not all) influencersโ social:
- Most of the photos you see on their feeds are curated, meaning they probably took dozens of images before they chose the one they posted, but not before they cropped and edited it to make it look like it was just a fluke shot. Iโve seen one girl walk down a street about 50 times pouting and flipping her hair just so her friend could get the perfect photo for this personโs Instagram. This wasnโt a photoshoot, it was just a normal day. So much for that โauthenticโ shot! In other words? Nobody looks that perfect all the time.ย
- Iโve known influencers who order everything on a menu in order to get a shot, then get up and leave the food without eating. Yeah. That happens. And while weโre talking about eatingโฆ.
- Theyโre probably not eating that smoothie bowl or whatever else theyโre posting on their feed. In reality, maintaining their (thin) image takes work, meaning they arenโt as free with their food as theyโd have you believe. Physical โbeautyโ sells, and unfortunately, most often that means our cultureโs thin ideal is the goal. When influencers in their 20s are doing campaigns for Juvederm fillers (true story), you know something is really off. ย
- Many of the influencers Iโve known arenโt the happiest people. Itโs very hard work to keep up appearances and to continue to pump out content thatโs flattering and fresh. Their life seems totally exhausting and not fun at all. You never know whatโs behind an image, and in many cases, you probably donโt even want to know.ย
In other words? THEYโRE SELLING YOU A FANTASY that anyoneโs real life will never live up to. And if you canโt stop comparing yourself to these people, itโs time to stop looking at them.ย
The person posting bullshit #fitspo photos and memes like, โsweat is fat cryingโ
These posts promote the message that looks should be prioritized over physical and emotional health.ย
I shouldnโt have to tell you this, but that thinking is always wrong. Always.
The thing about #fitspo accounts is that theyโre posting what is actually pernicious messaging promoting attractiveness, cloaked under the guise of being โinspirational.โ But in a lot of cases, they don’t inspire: they shame us into feeling as though they need to be somebody else in order to be attractive and worthy. That if weโre not thin and ready to punish our bodies, than weโre weak and lesser in some way.ย
If you have a fragile body image, you could be even more at risk by following fitspo accounts. Research suggests that time spent on social media is correlated to risk of body image concerns as well as anxiety, depressive symptoms, and low self esteem.
As far as the โno pain, no gainโ mindset, itโs completely stupid and dangerous. If something hurts, itโs your body telling you to stop. Ignoring that can lead to injury, obviously.ย
Those people selling garbage supplements and diets. Of course.
Definitely get rid of the โfriendsโ and whoever else who wants to sell you anything or deliver advice theyโre not qualified to give. That includes the people who you havenโt spoken to since school and who are now trying to โmeet you for coffeeโ so they can pitch you their MLM scheme. Sigh.ย
I donโt care how much weight someone has lost, how much โresearchโ theyโve read, or how amazing they think their diet program or supplements are. If theyโre dishing out MLM bullshit in order to drain your wallet and pad theirs, let them go.ย
Accounts that promote dubious nutrition and health information.ย
Health Ranger. MindBodyGreen (in many cases). The Medical Medium. Mr. Lectin-hater Dr Gundry. Goop. The account that puts out idiotic infographics like this one.
and this lovely gem:
What in actual fuck.
There are thousands of accounts that spew this sort of garbage nutrition and health advice but are still super popular (although I suspect that many of them buy followers). Donโt judge the quality of an account by the number of people who are following it.ย
Red flags to watch out for:
- Talk about โtoxicโ foods
- Anyone selling something
- Diet zealots who promote only one way of eating and are rude to everyone else
- Anyone who posts shit about โclean eatingโ and โgoodโ or โbadโ food
- Accounts that post โmiracle curesโ and โquick weight lossโ crap
- Accounts that promote stuff that is obviously too good to be true (ie raw diet to cure cancer, celery juice to cure EVERYTHING)
- Non-credentialed people who dole out advice but have no training in that area whatsoever
- Conspiracy theorists who use talk about Big Pharma or Big Food to fear-monger and promote an agenda
Clean out your social media closet for the new year, and start fresh with accounts that make you proud to be who you are. That help you recognize your value.ย
That build you up and add something to your life. That goes for the people who you give your precious time to, too.ย
Abby XO
great post! I’m also struggling for a healthier me, I’ve even start running with SportMe marathon training app and I can say I’m on the right track now. Nutrition is an important part of my losing weight plan, and your blog posts are a true inspiration!
Thank-you so much for your irreverent, hysterical statements of the truth in nutrition – have been waiting so long to hear someone put it out there! I will read and share every word you write.
What a breath of fresh air!
Cheers
Anne