Should You Unfollow That Influencer?
Social media should add something to our life. It’s supposed to be for connection and entertainment. Yet so many of us scroll through Instagram and end up feeling bad about ourselves.
One particular genre of social media personality that might have an impact on how you feel is the wellness influencer. These influencers can make you feel the need to be critical of your body, push fad diets, praise certain workouts above others, downplay the importance of medications, and outright promote ableism. There are a lot of pressures that can come from following accounts like this. At the same time, some influencers do provide genuinely helpful knowledge, fun workouts, and celebrate people of various sizes and ability levels. If you leave your feed and feel bad it is time for something that the wellness world loves - a cleanse! A social media cleanse, that is.
So, how do you know when it's time to unfollow that influencer? Start by asking yourself these questions:
Do you get any positive benefits from their feed?
One question to ask yourself when deciding whether your social media is in need of a cleanse is “why do I follow this person?” or “what do I get from this page?” Pausing and turning inward helps you determine whether their content meets your personal criteria for enjoying social media – like connection and entertainment. Do they make you feel empowered, confident, or informed? Are you learning something? Are they engaging with their followers? Influencers will influence us, so let that be for the better!
Do they have toxic messaging?
“Goal body.” “No days off.” “Eat like me and you’ll cure your xyz...” Toxic wellness messaging generally dismisses real life by creating a false narrative that working out for several hours a day or only eating a certain way is always both realistic and necessary – when in fact, there are a lot of valid reasons to skip a workout, and no single diet will work for everyone! We need days off to recover, to avoid burnout, and to enjoy the other 23 hours of the day that don’t revolve around the gym. We may be in recovery from Eating Disorders where restricting foods or limiting ourselves to one diet could drastically harm our mental health. An influencer who advocates for pushing through injuries and fatigue or for looking a certain way should raise a red flag.
Toxic wellness culture is linked to diet culture in that it promotes one shape and size body as the ideal – a white and thin one. These dangerous messages are usually being shared by people in bodies that historically represent what being healthy “looks like.” It’s 2023 – we know that fitness has no look. One of the most toxic messages wellness influencers can send is “if you do what I do, you will look and feel like me.” That’s just not true. Genetics play a major role in what we look like, no matter how much we exercise or what we eat. So if you see an influencer sharing a “7 Days to Get Arms Like Me” program, or “Eat this to drop your baby weight,” hit that unfollow button as fast as you can.
Do they make you feel bad about your body image?
If an influencer is telling you that you “need” to change how you look, that's a hard UNFOLLOW! Toxic wellness often claims that it is promoting a “healthier” lifestyle, but so often that lifestyle is extremely disordered. Counting calories, tracking macros, and measuring your body are not inherently healthy behaviors.
Even if you don’t partake in tracking your food or restrictive eating, just exposing yourself to this kind of content can have a damaging effect on your psyche. A 2021 study found that fitness influencers specifically often portray themes that can lead to unhealthy thoughts. Mental health is part of health, but promoting restriction and focusing on how your body looks is actually promoting mental illness.
Are they actually certified?
Having a platform does not make someone a professional. Look at what certifications these influencers hold. One study found that only 16.4% of wellness influencers actually held a certification even when they call themselves a professional. A lot of these influencers give advice they aren’t qualified to give that isn’t rooted in scientific research. Unfollow!
Are they giving nutrition advice that sounds like a fad diet?
If it sounds like a fad diet, it probably is. So many influencers give nutrition advice they aren’t qualified to give. A lot of times those #ads are linked to the foods they are recommending you eat. It’s hard to know what is good advice, but usually it isn’t from someone who is just telling you things with no background in the field, nor would it be someone who only promotes the foods that bring them a profit. For nutrition advice, it is best to follow anyone with MSed or RD after their name. This shows they have a degree in nutrition.
If someone is giving nutrition advice that is promoting extreme weight loss, beware. Will drinking celery juice really detoxify your body? Anyone promising you your body will drastically change in a short period of time is promoting disordered eating. Instagram banned ads promoting diet products for the reason that it does affect people negatively. It still happens, but definitely unfollow those pages when you come across them.
How to Mindfully Unfollow Influencers
The fastest way to cleanse your feed is to unfollow people who cause you to quickly scroll by them. This is a clear sign that their content isn’t working for you. Instagram shows you which accounts you interact with the least, and that may be a great way to recognize which accounts you want to delete. If you find yourself reading a post that triggers anxiety, negative body image, or other negative feelings, quickly hit unfollow, restrict, or even block.
Another way to curate your feed is to make sure to engage with influencers you do like. The more you engage with an account the more it will show up in your feed. You can also add folks whose pages you like to your favorites. Happy scrolling!
Who doesn’t make the cut?
Below is a list of the 10 core principles of Intuitive Eating with commentary from Molly Grimes & Stephanie Roth-Goldberg, co-founders of Spring Psychotherapy & Wellness. These ideas guide the way we practice therapy.
Reject a diet mentality (avoiding trends and fads)
Honor hunger cues (by eating regularly)
Make peace with food (stop labeling. Let go of ideas like “too many calories”, “junk food”, etc)
Challenge food rules (food is not good or bad)
Find satisfaction (eat satisfying foods)
Listen to your body to determine if it’s full (aim for overall satisfaction, not just physical fullness)
Be kind to your emotions (with and without the use of food)
Respect your body (positivity might be a goal, but neutral thoughts about your body are great)
Practice movement and exercise (Move in ways you enjoy, so you’ll want to do it often as a celebration of what your body can do)
Consider health and nutrition (science exists and it’s okay to consider recent research about food and eating, as long as it doesn’t cause disordered behaviors)