If you're anything like me, you're online quite a lot- chatting to friends and scrolling through your favourite social media pages. But could that be doing you more harm than good?

What messages are we seeing?
Social media can be very useful- but it can also negatively affect our mental health. Scroll through the feed in one of your favourite social media platforms- what do you see? If you are seeing images and posts that make you feel bad about yourself, you might be in need of a social media cleanse. Here are some examples of things that could be harmful:
- Unrealistic, photoshopped bodies (eg. most "fitspo")
- Promotion of unhealthy diets/ways of treating your body
- Violence
- Glamorisation of negative/discriminatory messages
- Other negative messages

How can we change this?
In order to replace the negative messages in your social media with positive ones, you can curate your social media. Here's how:

1. Identify
Firstly, identify which posts are having a negative effect on your mental health. Note the sources of these posts down.
2. Cut and Replace
Now it is time to cut the sources of negativity from your feed and replace them with sources of positivity. For example, if you decide to unfollow a page that mainly posts pictures of unrealistic, photoshopped bodies, you might like to replace that with a page that posts about body positivity.
3. Review
Scroll through your feed again. How do the posts affect you now? Ensure your feed still represents your interests in a positive way.

Have you tried curating your social media to be more positive?