4 Ways You Can Make Your Social Media Accounts More Supportive Of Your Healing Journey

Written by Emily Lovell, RD

As we enter a New Year, creating a supportive and empowering online space is more important than ever. Whether you’re looking to foster a community of acceptance and liberation or simply want your social media feed to reflect your true values, it’s time to step away from diet culture and cultivate a more values-aligned virtual space for yourself.

Here are some tips on how to make your social media feeds a safer, and more supportive space—free from the pressures of diet culture.

1. Unfollow Accounts That Promote Diet Culture

The first step in creating your new and empowering feed is to unfollow accounts that reinforce diet culture. These are the pages that share restrictive eating advice (often looks like “what I eat in a day” videos), promote quick-fix diets, or celebrate unrealistic body ideals. By following these accounts, you run the risk of internalizing harmful messages about your body and your worth. Instead, follow people who prioritize body liberation, body diversity, intuitive/attuned eating and self-compassion.

Consider following:

• Fat-positive and body-positive influencers: These individuals celebrate all bodies, promote body diversity, and help break down harmful stereotypes.

• Non-diet dietitians and therapists: These accounts emphasize rejecting food rules, encourage curiosity with tuning into your body and may provide tools that are supportive to your nourishment without the side of diet culture. 

• Mental health advocates: Look for creators who support emotional well-being, body-liberation, and the importance of mental health in overall well-being.

• Accounts that focus on hobbies or passions: Instead of focusing on body image, seek out content related to your interests—whether it’s art, books, fitness (on your own terms), or personal development.

Not quite ready to hit the unfollow button due to the account being a friend or family member? You have the option to mute other accounts’ posts and stories. You can do this by selecting the three dots on the top right hand corner of someone’s story and selecting “mute”; it will give you the option of only muting stories or stories and posts.

2. Set Up Your Social Media Accounts to Block Weight Loss Ads

Did you know that you can curate your ads on your Instagram account? 

If you’re tired of seeing harmful weight loss ads, here are the instructions:

1. Settings and activity

2. Accounts Centre

3. Ad preferences

4. Ad topics

5. Click on the search bar and enter Body Weight Control (it may also already be listed under popular topics)

6. Select “see less”

Once you update this setting it is reflective across all of your Meta accounts. Use the search bar to find other topics you would like to see less of and better curate your new supportive feed. We’ve also seen other creators share that blocking specific accounts may also influence the ads that come up on your feed.

You can also snooze suggested posts in your feed for 30 days by selecting Suggested Content under Settings and toggle on the snooze function. 

3. Engage with Content That Embraces Diversity and Inclusion

Diet culture content continues to thrive on the clicks it receives from catchy click-bait headlines or the dreaded before and after photo content. Let’s act as a community to counter that by making a meaningful switch to engaging with accounts that reflect the full spectrum of body diversity. This includes following accounts that show different body shapes, sizes, skin tones, abilities, genders, and identities. Devoting your precious clicks and shares to diverse voices and experiences, you contribute to a culture of inclusivity and acceptance.

To engage in a supportive way:

• Share posts from diverse creators and influencers.

• Diversify the accounts you follow – make sure your feed represents the true diversity of the world.

• Avoid posts that perpetuate the idea that only one body type is worthy of love, respect, or success.

4. Practice Compassion and Set Boundaries

Finally, remember that social media should feel like a warm and cozy space for you. Set boundaries for what you expose yourself to and practice compassion for both yourself and others. If a post or account makes you feel less than, give yourself permission to unfollow, mute, or block as needed. It’s okay to protect your peace and prioritize your mental and emotional well-being.

By taking small but intentional steps, you can create a social media feed that reflects your values of compassion, peace with food, body liberation, and mental health. 

We hope you found these steps helpful in creating a more supportive environment on your social media accounts. You can also further your healing journey by getting started with a self-compassion practice, our Self-Compassion Workbook is free and can be downloaded here.

If you don’t already follow us on social media you can find our Instagram here, and Facebook page here. We are so grateful to be in community with you!

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