2020 Resolution: Go on a Social Media Unfollowing Spree
**** a follower ratio, I don’t want to see your posts anymore: A column piece I wrote for the Capilano Courier.
We’re starting a new decade and your fitness regime, bedroom de-cluttering journey and money-saving resolutions have been overdone… to the bone. I propose you try something that only requires your thumbs, several minutes, and a strange urge to hypothetically delete someone from existence: A social media unfollowing spree.
These crowded, digital spaces are made up of friends, family, acquaintances and strangers that put an excessive amount of effort into their online appearance. At times, it can be a parade of brands that have strangled algorithms by the neck in order to capitalize on that one really obscure thing you wanted. Or, it can act as a life-saving feed that gives you something to do when you don’t know anyone in the room. Everyone has their own definition and use for these networking sites and apps — none of which are necessarily wrong or right. But, no matter what is on the timeline, there is a definite problem if you no longer enjoy the content.
There has been an increase in research concluding that social media use has becoming increasingly associated with feelings of depression and loneliness, rather than the collaborative, community-building aspects that they intend to provide. A HuffPost article described the behavioral impacts of social media: Envy, isolation, annoyance, insecurity, and decreased social skills. These are only a few of the symptoms that a behavioral scientist recognized through interviews with active users. The paradoxical effects contrast the connectivity and engagement that users expect when signing up for accounts and following loved ones and strangers online.
The issues largely stem from internal battles with self-image. People naturally compare themselves to others, which includes what they broadcast in their digital personas. We also place an over-reliance on validation through likes, comments, retweets and shares. In May 2019, Instagram put this to the test in Canada, removing the ability to see the total number of likes that a post receives (unless you posted it yourself). Instagram’s reasoning for the change was that they want followers to “focus on what [they] share, not how many likes [their] posts get.” Basically, the content is what users should use as inspiration and take satisfaction from, rather than a number.
I know a majority of millennials went through that ‘f4f’ era as ratio-obsessed pre-teens (and if you didn’t, it means “follow for follow”). Regardless of whether or not we had even spoken a word to these strangers, a high follower count was the equivalent to being cool. In striving to reach those high numbers, blind following became an unspoken rule that many of us felt obligated to follow, and still unconsciously do to this day. This is the sign you’ve been waiting for: Don’t.
Everyone has at least one of these in their follower lists:
1. A mutual friend-of-a-friend…of-a-friend that you’ve spoken to once at a bar, drunk
2. That classmate-turned-influencer that consistently DM’s you discount codes for some fast-fashion company
3. Multiple brand accounts that required you to follow them to enter a draw that you ended up losing
4. An ex co-worker that you never really liked but put up with because you saw them every weekend
5. Your ex (Sorry, they probably moved on by now)
Etcetera. If an account you’re following posts content that is irritating, makes you feel self-conscious, or the owner’s real-life personality is problematic, cut them off. It’s like the KonMari method with closets and luggages, but your follower list instead. If an account doesn’t “spark joy”, you don’t need it. With algorithms messing with what shows up on your timeline, you’re probably missing posts you’d prefer that aren’t able to compete with Kim Kardashian.
I get it, you might be hesitant to go on a follower cleanse because of the real-life social implications. It can be awkward to run into these people in real life after basically erasing their digital entity online. The worst-case scenario would be that they confront you. You could lie, act like the app unfollowed them (and others, you promise) before assuring them you’ll follow them again because of the false shame they instilled in you.
Or you could be honest, apologize, and secretly feel even more assured about your decision to unfollow them. If they noticed that you unfollowed them promptly after you did, it means one of two things: either they downloaded a tracking app that notifies them (cut these people off… ASAP), or they tapped your profile and searched for their username to no prevail. Both reasons suggest this person cares way too much about their follower count, since they’re actually offended from such a minor act, which is honestly way more embarrassing than your mature choice to unfollow them.
Yes, this is a call-out to you, the reader. I’ve accidentally run into people I unfollowed in real-life, got confronted and guilt-tripped for doing so, blocked them because of that, re-followed them after realizing they were alright, and I’m still here. A good ol’ follower-cleanse is crucial to healthy social media use and a happier you overall. The new year is the perfect opportunity to go on an unfollowing spree: start your feed off with content you actually enjoy, and updates on the people you actually want to see.
