Mar 18
Why I Purged my Social Media
I took the plunge to get rid of my followers, and you should too.
By Savvy Rafkin
Social Media… the toxic, silent manipulator of the new age culture.
It’s hard to not participate. Crazy Aunt Kate keeps posting videos of her freshly bathed dog running through mud on Facebook, and that one friend of a friend’s brother’s ex-girlfriend posted a bikini picture at some ocean… again.
The good parts of social media seldom outweigh the bad, but above all, I still indulge in the culture of it, after leaving my old social media style in the dust.
DISCONNECTING…
I graduated high school in 2019. I played into the game of following the most popular girls from my school, watching them enjoy their time in college and going to frat parties, and I hated myself because I wasn’t part of it.
And one day, it occurred to me: I lose absolutely nothing by getting rid of them on my social media accounts. So, the purging began. I went from 1200 followers on Instagram to 400. I went from following almost 2000 people to following about 200.
Since this mass purge of those people who I just don’t care to know anymore, all of my social media accounts have become so much more casual… and it is fantastic.
RELEARNING…
Leaving them behind left me so much more free and comfortable to post the things that made me happy. I no longer worried about what Jane Doe would say if she saw my tattoo on my page, or how my body looked in that swimsuit I loved.
Taking the place of doctored posts was my life. My beautiful, crazy, chaotic, happy, unfiltered life in little squares. And since, I no longer look at myself in such a critical lens. Instead, it’s a digital scrapbook and allows me to connect with my best friends.
I look back on them now, just to see what I was doing, who I was with, and what adventures I embarked on.
MOVING ON…
As a creator, I find immense joy in making things. Videos, collages, pictures, stories… I love it all.
I started to create videos that made me happy, capturing all of these moments of immense joy to bring me out of dark times.
And the best part? I can share them without shame! Without embarrassment! Without anxiety!
So this is my urge to you, reader. PURGE. THE. SOCIALS!
MY LIFE NOW…
I created one of my favorite pieces yet. All the things I love about my crazy little life, and I compiled them into a non-complete running video of my favorite things about living as me.
So here I am, to share it with all of you, no follow required.
