Stressed? Try Cleaning Up Your Social Media

Many times what we think is causing our stress is not actually the catalyst. If you have 
been feeling a general feeling of unease and stress, but aren’t sure why, it’s time to take 
a look at your social media.

This is a very common occurrence for triggers you don’t even know you had. From 
unhealthy comparisons to political or religious viewpoints, social media can be fun, but 
also very intense and overwhelming.

Here are some tips for cleaning up your social media and making it as stress-free as 
possible.


Avoid Unhealthy Comparisons

Avoid Comparisons: Social media can often lead to unhealthy comparisons, where 
people tend to compare their lives, achievements, and appearances with others. This 
constant comparison can contribute to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and 
stress. By cleaning up your social media and unfollowing accounts that trigger 
comparison or negative emotions, you can reduce the stress associated with comparing 
yourself to others and focus on your own well-being.


Limit How Much News You Get

Reduce Information Overload: Social media platforms are flooded with information from 
various sources, including news, opinions, and updates from friends and acquaintances. 
This information overload can lead to feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed. 
Detoxing your social media by unfollowing accounts that trigger negative emotions or 
cause information overload can help reduce the overwhelming stream of information 
and minimize stress.


Follow Accounts That Bring You Joy

You know the ones. Social media accounts that always make you smile or laugh. 
Whether they share nothing but funny memes all day, or they have reels and TikToks 
that are fun to watch, try to pay more attention to these accounts. 

If you find one person you really love, it is a high probability that the posts they share 
you will also love. This is a great way to find new people. Look at who they follow or the 
posts they share, and see who is tagged. You can go to the original person who posted 
it and see if you also vibe with them. 

Remember your social media is completely custom to you, so you can follow and 
unfollow anyone you want.


Manage Your Social Media Time

The amount of time you spend on social media in general can also make a big 
difference in how you feel about it, and whether or not it causes you stress. It might not 
be the individual people or updates you see, but how often you see them.

If you are a “doom scroller” where you keep scrolling over and over again on the same 
negative topic, then that’s going to become a problem. It is habitual and can even be 
addictive. You keep intaking more and more information, even when you don’t need to 
know more about it. 

It might be a good time to manage how long you are on social media in a day, and set 
“screen-free” times as well where you give yourself a break.


Go Through Regular Purging

Try to make a regular habit of purging your social media, including going through 
accounts you follow to mute or unfollow them, follow new people, and just clean 
everything up. 


