Say there’s a commercial break on Bad Girl’s Club (or just some lame scene that you know is completely scripted)… Or, picture yourself waiting to meet your best friend for brunch at your favorite restaurant. She says she’s on her way but we all know what that means… Or, imagine yourself on the most awkward date with a guy from that dating site, who’s at least 3 inches shorter than what he had stated on his profile… Whatever slightly boring situation we may find ourselves in, we will all do it: pull out our phones, go to our favorite social media website and spend however long browsing through various profiles, analyzing countless photos.
Why do we do it? We’ll spend 10 minutes… 30 minutes… an hour… even longer staring at other girls’ photos. Stare, scroll. Critique, scroll. Compare, scroll. Envy, scroll. Analyze, accidentally like, two-second mini-heart attack, scroll. You begin on the profile of your last crush’s new girlfriend and then find yourself stalking some blonde sorority girl from some college you’ve never even heard of. And yet, you’ll still spend your time looking through her posts… why?
Boredom
You have no new notifications. You’re not going to post another post of your morning coffee (though it is bomb); what else are you going to do? Girls are beautiful and mesmerizing, and generally post way better photos than men. I mean, you’d rather look at a girl’s new Michael Kors purse than a man’s dream car any day.
Comparison
Whether we admit it or not, most of the time we’ll find ourselves playing the whole comparison game: She may be skinnier than me, but at least my nose isn’t that huge and obnoxious. At least I don’t have to pose half naked to get likes. I’m sure I look better in person. It’s completely unhealthy, yet like all addictions, so hard to overcome.
Inspiration
Did you see how much weight that one girl from high school lost? Dang, she looks good. *Scroll through her entire profile* See, look how she looked 143 weeks ago. I should start jogging again. And oh my gosh, I totally need to try that hairstyle. Those white shorts look so great with the top. I could wear something like that.
Whatever the reason may be, the majority of us will continue to find ourselves staring at other girls’ profiles: analyzing, critiquing, comparing, sometimes liking and scrolling. Now this isn’t some guilt-trip post telling you to get off your phone and live life because living life is about doing what makes you happy, and if stalking other girls on social media makes you happy, then by all means, do it. But (1) don’t you dare draw your sense of self-worth from social media. And (2) live the life on that profile you found yourself completely envying.
So, here are five IG accounts to follow to lift your spirits, make you laugh and stretch your imagination:
1. Never Liked It Anyway (Neverlikedit)
If you’re not already following us on IG than you are seriously depriving your feed. You’ll get updated on new blog posts and get motivated to breakup and smile. Sass, humor, wit… what more could you want?
2. Happy Quotes & Inspiration (Happsters)
This account will totally turn your gray skies into blue sunny ones. Look on the bright side and get encouraged with plenty of uplifting, aesthetically pleasing quotes.
3. Claudia Oshry (Girlwithnojob)
Laugh your heartbreak away with this completely hilarious (and relatable) account. #thestruggle.
4. Humans of New York (Humansofny)
This account will surely remind you that it’s a small world after all. You’ll feel a new connection to nature and humanity, and totally feel the wanderlust.
5. Lean In (Leanin)
Lean In is this awesome account about people changing the world. From Amelia Earhart, to Serena Williams, to Oprah, you’ll never run out of awesome inspiration.
