Unfollow
Has anyone ever really looked at their social media? I mean really looked at your social media? I mean by skipping through the random videos, sponsored content, news, and the over saturated photos of people going out and with the common caption: reunited and it feels so good. Well, I did and with that being said I found something alarming. Maybe “alarming” is extreme to say but it’s a notion to ponder. Otherwise, why the hell would I would be writing this.
I examined my Instagram first. I scrolled through my feed first, because I’m human and unfortunately my short attention span can’t be satisfied until I’ve seen 50+ pictures and short videos. When I finished, I checked my profile. The usual showed, my profile picture, posts, so nothing out of the usual there, until I saw how many people/pages I followed. Seven hundred and thirteen is what my profile showed.
My first reaction after seeing that astronomical number was how is that possible? I couldn’t understand it. Seven hundred and thirteen may not seem like a huge number, but to me, it just didn’t feel right, especially, in terms of understanding how I got to that number. I decided to go back through and review all people I follow.
Some made sense and some didn’t. A few of the pages were things that I found through the discovery feed, while others were people I had met a time or two and that was it. There was no further communication after that. Which comes to my point of this article. Who are these people really and why did I follow them in the first place? Most people won’t admit to this, but social media plays a bigger role in our lives than we know. Not only do we use social media as a way to obtain news/information and keep up with trends, but we use it to form instant relationships.
Forming bonds took time. They actually required work, effort, and understanding. Now, in order to get close with someone you have to add them on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and (unless I’ve forgotten anything else, dear god I hope not) Twitter. Then, from there you’re deluded into thinking that you’re included in their life (somehow) because you see them posting a picture of a meal they ordered or a retweet of some mini paragraph from a celebrity that for some reason had to be shared.
The art of meeting people and being able to make friends is constantly being hindered as the hierarchy of needs for relationships place social media at the top. With all this to consider then, how do we decide who are really there for us? Most people, including me, won’t get rid of their accounts, but I did come to a realization that will lower the high number of followers I had and its really simple: unfollow.
Its anti-climactic I know, but I’ll explain. When I looked through my list of follows page, I set a number in mind. It took me a little while, but I managed to get from 713 to 585. My goal is to get down to 500 or 550 at least. Call it a purge of sorts and I have to admit, the experience felt great. It sounds weird I know, however, its kind of relieving to know that I can choose who to keep up with and who I deem to be the real important people in my life.
Now trust me, I still have more things to sift through and others to unfollow. Most of the people in that 585 I don’t hang out with or talk to on a weekly basis. I guess if you’re reading this, I’m trying to throw a bigger concept into your head, but don’t worry this isn’t an article to tell you to put your phone down and take the time to really reflect on your life. The idea of what I’m trying to say is really think about those who are your life. Who are your real friends and family? Don’t base relationships on what your social media suggests for you.
