With quarantine forcing us to stay indoors, many people have found themselves spending an unhealthy amount of time on social media. The unfortunate consequence of this action is that we end up changing our opinion of ourselves. Psych Central states that social media can hurt how we see ourselves. One of the critical impacts it has had on many of us is how we see our bodies. Accepting yourself is the first step to loving yourself. But how does a person go about finding joy in their body in the age of social media? Hopefully, these tips will help to point you in the right direction.
Avoid Diet Culture
Social media has always been about appearing to be different from who you are. Diet culture has become one of the most pervasive elements that have infiltrated social media today. Influencers and nutrition “experts” have been bombarding users with suggestions about healthy eating, yet they’re doing more harm than good. Diet culture can be especially harmful for those who already have an eating disorder. The Center for Discovery notes that it’s even more challenging to recover from an eating disorder while under quarantine.
Find Acceptance In Your Circle
It’s a horrible thing to notice how many people on social media glorify eating disorders. The focus on losing weight and getting thin isn’t harmful when done in moderation. The problem is, with the way social media algorithms work, it can lead to a downward spiral. The first place you should be looking to should be the people who know you and care about you. Those people are the ones that you should ask about your weight and trust their judgment. Your circle is made up of the people who know you the best. Many times, they are the reason you joined social media in the first place. Trust in them to help you avoid the dangerous trap that diet culture can lead you into online.
Unfollow The People You Need To
Social media feeds are dedicated to what you want to see. Sometimes this leads us down a very dark road. Buzzfeed notes that TikTok’s algorithm has a disturbing amount of posts glorifying eating disorders, despite their own terms of service forbidding that. To keep your sanity, you sometimes need to unfollow certain pages or influencers. If you have people promoting unhealthy eating lifestyles, they should also go into the unfollow bin. You shouldn’t need a wellness center to help you recover from an eating disorder. You can do this yourself. You just need to control the people who influence you.
Understand That Being You Is Alright
The number one cause of people ending up with disorders is that they aren’t satisfied with who they are. Coming to terms with the fact that it’s okay to be who you are is a significant milestone in your personal development. Sadly, because of how people promote themselves on social media, there’s very little focus on actual development. Everyone else seems to know what’s best for you. Maybe it’s time you took a time out and realized that it’s okay to be who you are because it’s only by doing that, you’ll find the joy in your own body.