By Savannah Selimi
The average person spends almost three hours a day on social media. That’s three hours sucked into the neatly-compiled, aesthetically-pleasing vortex of a scrolling screen. You may catch a glimpse of Kylie Jenner’s latest selfie; a cheesy pic of a couple on holiday in Paris; an absurd meme that makes you chuckle; or an ad for something you were literally just talking about.
When we scroll – most often mindlessly – we are digesting all the world news and influ-encer stories, very well impacting our entire day. This can mean comparing yourself to photoshopped Insta models, or wondering why you haven’t achieved as much as that one random girl you danced with at a party three years ago and still follow for some reason. In essence, the content we feed our minds matter.
Spring is among us, inviting new opportunities to grow and shake off the humdrum of win-ter. So, to accompany an abundance of blossoming and bloom, change up your feed. Un-follow people who refuse to inspire you; who invoke pessimism; who don’t keep it real (or as real as you like, because let’s face it, Instagram is saturated in adorning superficiality).
And with that, here’s some genuinely cool Instagrammers to bless your feed.
#1: Florence Given | @florencegiven
21-year-old Florence Given is a London-based artist and writer of the bestselling book ‘Women Don’t Owe You Pretty’. Not only is Florence the perfect inspo for your 70s-babe fashion fix, but she is a strong advocate for feminism and not giving a fuck what other peo-ple think about you. Her feed emits vibrant sunset colours and a retro aesthetic, whilst cap-tions spit words on living unapologetically in a patriarchal world. Florence Given will al-ways provide that much-needed confidence boost. Check her out.
#2: Morgan Harper Nichols | @morganharpernichols
Digital artist and writer Morgan Harper Nichols is truly one of my favourite Instagrammers. Morgan’s posts are so entwined with love, her artistic minimalism and heartwarming quotes make you feel refreshed and safe. Instagram is powerful that way; you can come across a post that snaps you into the beauty of reality. And that’s what Morgan Harper Nichol’s art does: it makes you see how graceful everyday things actually are.
#3: Maggie Zhou | @yemagz
Maggie Zhou is a Melbourne writer, blogger and Media student at Monash. I’m not one to follow ‘influencers’, purely for the reason their content doesn’t really impress me, though the way Maggie utilises her platform is magic. She is adamant on transparency, specifi-cally in the fashion industry, and is an advocate for slow-fashion and sustainability. Aes-thetic-wise, her posts include funky, trendy outfits and infographics explaining what is cur-rent and what is important. For a refreshing take on The Influencer, follow Maggie.
#4: The Daily Aus | @thedailyaus
Struggling to keep a high attention span? Avoiding the gruelling 6pm news? That’s okay, @thedailyaus has got you. This Instagram is a go-to for a quick fixture on what’s going on
in the world, from recent political updates, ‘Culture Wraps’, and quick opinion pieces. In their bio, @thedailyaus promises to provide ‘value to your feed’. And that it does, serving us accessible and easily-understandable news pieces. Neat.
#5: We’re Not Really Strangers | @werenotreallystrangers
We’re Not Really Strangers encourages you to seek other people in lonely spaces. Sounds weird, but that’s exactly what they’re about: finding togetherness in vulnerability. Their feed presents happenstance sightings of quotes and reminders, such as ‘just be-cause they come back doesn’t mean you have to let them back in’ posted on a red door. It’s a nicely nostalgic-heartbreaking-eyeopening addition to your morning scroll.
And with that, enjoy your spring-cleaned feed. Take care of yourself