7 Ways To Make Instagram a Positive Force in Your Life
1 hour and 21 minutes; 81 minutes in total.
That’s how much time I spend a day on Instagram alone. Personally, I don’t think that is a damning number since some of that time includes using Instagram for my job. What started to concern me is what content I’m absorbing during those 81 minutes every day.
I usually don’t feel great when I close out Instagram, which means I’m probably feeding my mind and soul “internet trash” the majority of that time. I would love to quit Instagram and live in my own happy bubble, but realistically with my job and the career asset Instagram has become, that would not be to my benefit.
So instead, I set out to have at least 60 minutes of my daily usage create positivity in my life. I followed the below 7 steps, and now feel rejuvenated, inspired, and relaxed after using Instagram.
1. Unfollow personal accounts that don’t follow you.
This may seem petty, but let’s be honest for a second. Why do you want to follow someone’s life, when they aren’t interested in doing the same with yours? Every time you see their photos, it a reminder that this person doesn’t even care to follow your life. It’s a waste of your time, anxiety, and mental well-being to have them pop up on your feed.
If you want to speed up the process, there are tons of apps that can quickly seed out your followers for you. I use “Followers” on my iPhone.
2. Unfollow accounts that DO NOT cultivate positive thoughts or change.
When I did an overhaul of my Instagram, I realized I was following 15 meme pages. What can I say? I love a good laugh! Alas, that wasn’t a good enough excuse to keep following ALL 15. Let’s be real; these pages are reposting the same content anyways, and what value do they really add to your life? Narrow it down to your favorite 2 or 3 accounts and put the rest to bed.
Also in this category are influencers and brands. I’m not here to hate on influencers (I think some of them can provide great value and teachings) but you know which ones I’m talking about. The accounts that cause you to challenge yourself in a negative way. Your clothes aren’t up to date enough, you’re overweight, you need to work harder, you need to make more money, you need to buy these expensive items, the list goes on and on.
If an account isn’t creating positive mental change toss them back into cyberspace.
3. Follow accounts that DO ignite positive change and creative thinking.
After I did a “who I’m following” overhaul I evaluated what I craved more of. I made a list of ways I wanted to improve my thinking and personal growth, as well as thoughts I struggled with. I came up with healthy eating, body positivity, creativity, and mental health.
From there, I simply reversed engineered my list. I started following accounts that shared really simple healthy recipes, positive affirmations, forward-thinking creative ideas, creatives I admired, etc.
Now whenever I open my feed, I’m actually excited of what I will learn, and how I will grow creatively and mentally.
4. Turn off your notifications!
If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend watching The Social Dilemma. One of my favorite sections of the film is the discussion on notifications, which are designed to keep you active and engaged as long as possible. If you really want to limit your time on Instagram, turn off notifications for a week. I guarantee you, the time you spend on Instagram will drop.
5. Set a timer on your phone.
This is an easy no-brainer, especially if you find yourself opening your phone and going straight to Instagram without skipping a beat. If you hold yourself accountable and abide by the timer, you’ll begin to cherish your time on Instagram more.
When you cherish something, you are a lot more careful with it, and actually treat it as a privilege, which quite frankly it is.
6. Move the Instagram app around on your screen.
When I unlock my phone, muscle memory would automatically guide my finger to the social media folder and open Instagram. I can do this while I am walking, sleeping, talking to other people, cooking; you name it. If you take one day a week to shift where the Instagram app sits on your screen, you have to really think about finding it to open it.
In those few moments of searching, you can catch yourself saying “Do I really need to be on here right now? Will this serve me a good purpose?”
7. Post what makes YOU happy.
This is a corny “tale as old as time” statement, but post whatever you want. Don’t worry about what your followers will think, and if you do worry about what they will think refer to points #2 and #3. Chances are you’re allowing some negative energy to creep into your Instagram feed and that’s affecting your decision on what to post.
2020 has been negative and mentally challenging enough. Create some positive change with something as simple as your Instagram Feed.
