Free Yourself: The Power of the Unfollow

I recently overheard a group of women (demo: 35-44, HHI $100K+) complaining that all they ever see on social media is food. One of them noted how annoying it was that she knew exactly what her friend ate every evening because she posted it to Facebook. I have friends that groan about all the baby posts that plague us as we knock on 30’s door (queue Aziz Ansari poking fun at babies). You have the proud cat lovers, showing us that Mr. Snuggles likes to play with pens. Most dreaded, perhaps, are the I’ll-update-you-every-step-of-the-way-ers with status updates on when they drink water, eat food and go to the bathroom. And the juicers, “OMG, you know the only thing better than juicing, world?” telling you about it constantly. “Look at my juice guys. I’m SO HEALTHY. #somethingirrelevant.”

Don’t care about these things? Don’t follow the people who do them.

I’m a fan of the edit, the cleanse, the purge. There’s something cathartic about shedding the unnecessary. We do this with our attire (always take one accessory off like Coco instructed us to), our closets come change of season, maybe our refrigerator if we’re feeling ambitious (or embarrassed by its state). But what about our social channels?

Take control, free yourself from the cats, babies, juices, whatever it is that you don’t care about with the power of the unfollow. Rise up, be courageous, find the bravery to hit the button and edit down the people you follow on your social channels to the ones who interest you, who add something to your life: the providers of great links, relevant news or inspirational images.  Your favorite blogger or your friend from college who never got a job yet somehow is traveling the world while you’re at your desk like you’re supposed to be, right? Right? Your time is valuable — well at least mine is. So I’m not going to waste my time following people who don’t add to my social-sphere (sorry weird cousin Alan who is a little too into Duck Dynasty, see ya at Christmas, but not in my newsfeed.)

This is your reminder that you’re in control of the content you consume – that’s the point. Curate a valuable list of people worth following and stop complaining already.