Hit that unfollow button

The other day I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a picture that made me stop in my tracks and think, "what the hell am I doing?". I was looking at a photo of a beautiful girl with a Pinterest hairstyle, who was on her 5th luxury vacation of the year in the most breath-taking location and wearing "on sale" clothing that was (of course) tagged to the expensive designer brands. Then I landed on a home decor Instagrammer, who was showcasing her many rustic home decor items (linked of course), making my simple home seem like it was a cardboard box in comparison.

As I continued scrolling through feed after picture-perfect feed, I found myself questioning why I follow these accounts that either: 1.) make me roll my eyes at how unrelatable they are; and 2.) make me feel either jealous or like I am missing out.  Come on, nobody's brunch pictures actually look that good. Have you ever tried to get a picture-perfect photo shoot done with 3 toddlers and a dog? And how can you even eat on a table with a tablescape so cluttered you can't even move without knocking over a glass? 

I know I sound really cynical, and maybe even jealous (I might be a little bit. I think that's only natural). But honestly, I started following the majority of these accounts years ago when they first started, when they were less serious and more relatable, just featuring regular people figuring their lives out, posting blurry, just-OK photos of real moments and decorating their homes with things they already had. But somewhere along the years, that line has become blurred. Instagram isn't the only culprit of this. This goes for bloggers, YouTubers, the people that are labeled as influencers. The whole "do it for the 'gram" mindset has truly changed social media and what it's all about - sharing daily life with family and friends. Now everything is filtered, with a cohesive preset theme, posed photos, shady ads, and consumerism being shoved down your throats. None of these people or accounts are "real" anymore. That thought was the catalyst for my unfollowing spree on Instagram.

I took a look at my profile page and realized I was following over 450 accounts. Let me say that again for the people in the back: OVER FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY ACCOUNTS. Say what?! As I was looking through my feed,  I realized I either didn't care about or couldn't relate to half of them. So, off I went. I unfollowed over half of the accounts on my list, keeping only the feeds that I truly enjoy seeing and letting go of the rest: the famous 20-something YouTubers, makeup gurus with extravagant looks and too many PR unboxings, unrelatable country-hopping lifestyle bloggers that never seem to be in their places of residence and shop incessantly, and home decor accounts that gave me serious FOMO. After all that, I can honestly say that I like my feed so much more now. 

I used to love aesthetic. The more filtered, posed, and saturated, the better. I guess I enjoyed the escapism of it all, and it was a great break from the day-to-day of mundane life. But as I get older I realize that what I am looking for in my social media feeds (and honestly, in my life and relationships),  is reality. True life, not sugar coated with filters or presets or bragged-about luxurious lifestyles that, let's face it, is out of reach for so many of us. Anyway, I hope you can forgive the rambli-ness of this post, and that it inspires you to look at your feeds and let go of anything or anyone that doesn't make you happy. Life is too short to have an overly cluttered, unrelatable 'Gram feed. #firstworldproblems, am I right? 

That's all for me today, folks. Thank you for listening :)